HISTORY 



BOHEMIAN AND MORAVIAN BRETHREN. 



BY A. BOST, GENEVA. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, AND ABRIDGED. 

WITH AN APPENDIX, 

CONTINUING UiE HISTORY TO ZINZENDORf's DEATH, AND A 
SKETCH OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE 
MORAVIAN CHURCH. 



LONDON: 
RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY; 

Instituted 1799 ; 

SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW ) AND 
BY THE BOOKSELLERS. 

1834, 




LONDON : 
J. Hill, Black Horse Court, Fleet Street. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Vage 

From the commencement of the christian era, to a.D. 1373 ...... 1 

CHAPTER II. 

From John Huss, to the origin of the church of the Brethren, 1373 10 
CHAPTER III. 

From the origin of the United Brethren, to the reformation, 1457— 
1517 44 

CHAPTER IV. 

From the formation, to the period of the Brethren's dispersion 
through Prussia and Poland, 1517—1570 68 

CHAPTER V. 

The proceedings of the Brethren of Bohemia and Moravia, from 
the persecution in 1548, to the destruction of their churches, 1627 92 

CHAPTER VI. 

On the internal constitution of the ancient church of the Brethren 
of Bohemia, Moravia, and Poland ................... 129 

CHAPTER VII. 

From the extinction of the ancient church, to the establishment of 
the new ; and the foundation of Herrnhut, 1627 — 1722 156 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Account of the life of Zinzendorf to the year 1722, and of the reli- 
gious state of Herrnhut and its neighbourhood during the same 
period, 1700— 1727 ,. 173 

CHAPTER IX. 

Increase at Herrnhut, 1722—1727 195 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

Internal dissensions at Herrnhut, and their settlement on the 12th 
of May, 1727 ; with an account of the revival that followed.... 214 

CHAPTER XL 

A view of the state of Herrnhut in 1727 . , 236 

CHAPTER XII. 

From the agreement, on the 13th of August, 1727, to the settlement 
of the independence of the church, in January, 1731 .......... 259 

CHAPTER XIII. 

History of the mission to the West Indies, from its commencement 
to 1736 ; and ot the Greenland mission, to the year 1739 273 

CHAPTER XIV. 

An account of some other emigrations from Bohemia, besides those 
of the brethren, from their commencement to the establishment 
of the refugees in protestant countries, 1720 — 1740 299 

CHAPTER XV. 

From the time of the first commission of inquiry to the second, 
1732—1736 311 

CHAPTER XVI. 

From the second commission of inquiry, in 1736, to the end of the 
year, 1739 335 

CHAPTER XVH. 
General history, A.D. 1740 and 1741 354 

CHAPTER XVHI. 

Description of Herrnhut in 1740 368 

Specimens of Moravian Hymns ..•«• 392 

APPENDIX. 

Continuation of the history to the death of count Zinzendorf. Brief 
sketch of the present state of the Moravian church ............ 399 



HISTO RY 

OF THE 

BOHEMIAN AND MORAVIAN BRETHREN. 



CHAPTER I. 



FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN 
ERA, TO A.D. 1373. 

The brethren of Moravia are descendants of a 
people who, like the Vandois of Piedmont, never 
bowed beneath the Romish yoke, but may be 
traced through the Greek church, directly to the 
primitive church. Let us briefly notice the origin 
of this society, which has been known in Christ- 
endom, during the last four centuries, by the 
name of the United Brethren. 

As early as the days of the apostles the gos- 
pel was preached in Illyria and Dalmatia, Rom. 
xv. 19. 2 Tim. iv. 10; and, in the second and 
third centuries, we read of bishops and martyrs 
in those countries. For some time the chris- 
tians in Illyria, as elsewhere, lived dispersed 
among their heathen neighbours. By degrees, 
however, the christian religion spread over those 
countries, so that, in the year 680, Illyrian 

B 



2 FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 



bishops were expected at the general council of 
Constantinople, and they were absent only be- 
cause they refused to countenance the worship of 
images. It was not, however, till the ninth cen- 
tury, that the Moravians embraced Christianity as 
a nation, by the instrumentality of the preaching 
of Cyril and Methodius, two pious and learned 
Greek ecclesiastics, who were introduced by the 
king's sister. Cyril is said to have been the author 
of that translation of the bible which is still used 
among the Slavonians who remain attached to 
the Greek church. 

Christianity gradually spread from Moravia 
into Bohemia ; but, in the latter country, those 
who received the gospel suffered cruel persecu- 
tions, from their countrymen who continued in 
heathenism. Their places of worship were shut 
up ; preachers were prohibited from teaching ; 
and, for more than ten years, they endured every 
kind of cruelty and oppression, until they were 
relieved by the interposition of the emperor 
Otho i. But he only interposed with the design 
of subjecting them to the church of Rome, and 
from that period another contest arose, which 
lasted for several centuries. 

One event which contributed much to advance 
the Romish religion in that country, was a visit 
of the sister of the grand duke of Bohemia to 
Rome. The bishops and priests she had hitherto 
seen in Bohemia lived in humility and poverty, 
like their Master, and were diligently employed 
in teaching the people in their native tongue, 
without pomp or ostentation ; but the splen- 
dour of the papal court, and the Latin worship, 



CHRISTIAN ERA ? TO A. D. 1373. 



3 



replete with imposing ceremonies, had such an 
effect upon her, that, on her return to Bohemia, 
she could not rest till she induced her brother to 
form the fatal resolution of introducing- the Ro- 
mish religion into his dominions. This occa- 
sioned a succession of troubles, and of bloody 
persecutions for several centuries, 

As the states of Bohemia opposed this innova- 
tion, the grand duke endeavoured to introduce it 
by degrees. He constituted a bishopric at Prague, 
the capital of Bohemia; nominating a German 
Roman catholic as bishop, and ordering the 
Latin ritual to be used in public worship. The 
Bohemians strenuously resisted this latter in- 
croachment upon their rights. At first some 
concessions were made, but what one pope 
granted was revoked by another. The contest, 
on this point alone, continued more than a cen- 
tury, until it was terminated by pope Gregory 
vii. who returned the following answer to 
prince Wratislaus, upon his making renewed ef- 
forts to obtain for the Bohemians their former 
liberties : — 44 Gregory, bishop, and servant of the 
servants of God, sends greeting and benediction 
to the Bohemian prince Wratislaus. Your high- 
ness desires that we would give permission to 
your people to conduct their church service ac- 
cording to the old Slavonian ritual : but know, 
dear son, that we can by no means grant this 
your request ; for, having frequently searched 
the holy scriptures, we have there discovered 
that it has pleased, and still pleases Almighty 
God, to direct his worship to be conducted in 
hidden language, that not every one, especially 
the simple, might understand it. For if it were 



4 FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 

to be performed in a manner altogether intelli- 
gible, it might easily be exposed to contempt and 
disgust ; or, if imperfectly understood by half- 
learned persons, it might happen, that by hear- 
ing and contemplating the word too frequently, 
errors might be engendered in the hearts of the 
people which would not be easily eradicated. 
Let no one pretend to quote as a precedent, that 
formerly exceptions were made in favor of new 
converts and simple souls. True it is, that, in 
the primitive church, much was conceded to up- 
right and well-meaning people ; but much injury 
was done, and many heresies thereby created ; 
insomuch, that when the christian church spread 
more and more, and became more firmly esta- 
blished, it was plainly perceived, that, from the 
root of such ill-timed indulgence, many errors 
had sprung up, which required great labour and 
pains to destroy. Therefore, what your people 
ignorantly require, can in no wise be conceded 
to them ; and we now forbid it, by the power of 
God, and his holy apostle Peter ; and exhort 
you, for the sake of the honour of almighty God, 
that you oppose such levity of sentiment by 
every possible means, in conformity to this our 
command. Given at Rome, in the year 479. " 

Such was the imperious language held by the 
popes, to kings and princes in that and the fol- 
lowing centuries. By this insolent procedure, 
the aversion of the Bohemians against the rites 
of the Romish church was increased ; but worn 
out by the repeated and increasingly severe man- 
dates of the popes, they began to relax in their 
zeal for purity of doctrine and worship; when, 
in the year 1176, at a most seasonable period, a 



CHRISTIAN ERA, TO A.D, 1373. 



5 



considerable body of the Vandois emigrated to 
Bohemia, who encouraged them to cleave firmly 
to the truth, as they had received it in the be- 
ginning. 

Many of theWaldenses, when persecuted by the 
church of Rome, took refuge in Bohemia ; and 
it is even said that Waldo himself accompanied 
the exiles thither, and died in that country. 
The Waldenses and Bohemians having united, 
enjoyed rest and peace for sometime; Divine 
worship was conducted among them with regu- 
larity; their assemblies being held, in some 
places privately, in others more publicly ; they 
maintained good order and discipline ; adminis- 
tered help according to their ability, particularly 
to their dispersed brethren in distant countries ; 
and sent missionaries to England, Hungary, 
Brandenburg, Pomerania, and other places. 
Thus they proceeded quietly and unobserved for 
about two centuries ; when, being betrayed by 
the indiscreet conduct of two of their preachers, 
a dreadful persecution arose, and almost all of 
them were obliged to flee into the neighbouring 
kingdoms, as we shall see hereafter. 

To return, more particularly to Bohemia and 
Moravia, the endeavours of the Roman pon- 
tiffs, till towards the middle of the fourteenth 
century, were principally directed to the intro- 
duction of the Latin ritual into the church ser- 
vice of Moravia and Bohemia. But, in the reign 
of the emperor Charles iv. an attempt was 
made to enforce the general adoption of all the 
corruptions and abuses of the western church. 
With this view, in the year 1350, the bishopric 
b 2 



6 FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 

of Prague was raised to an archbishopric by 
the pope and the emperor, and a university 
founded, which was furnished with Italian and 
German professors. These men not only intro- 
duced the Latin language and popish cere- 
monies into the churches, but prohibited the 
marriage of the clergy, and denied to the people 
the use of the cup in the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper. Such as desired to receive both the 
bread and wine, according to the institution of 
our Saviour, were now obliged to partake of it 
in their dwellings, or in remote and hidden 
places ; many upright ministers being yet found, 
who were willing, notwithstanding abuse, and 
at the risk of their lives, to administer it in this 
form. Those nobles indeed, who feared to lose 
the favour and emoluments of the court, were, by 
degrees, persuaded to adopt all the opinions and 
forms of the Romish church ; but yet, even 
among such as outwardly joined her worship, 
there were many, both in Bohemia and Moravia, 
who secretly opposed the prevailing errors. It 
also pleased God to raise up several men of high 
station in the church, who bore a public testi- 
mony against the prevailing corruptions, both 
in churches and colleges, and even in the castle 
church at Prague. Among these, John Militach, 
a master of arts, and a learned and pious man, 
born of a noble family in Moravia, was distin- 
guished. In 1360, he was appointed minister 
of the castle church at Prague, where he found 
such acceptance that he often preached three 
times in one day, to crowded and eager audi- 
tories, in the Bohemian, and also, to accommo- 



CHRISTIAN ERA, TO A. D. 1373- 7 

date strangers, in the German language. By his 
spiritual exhortations, and his exemplary con- 
duct, many were influenced to forsake their 
wicked course of life; this was the case even 
with three hundred prostitutes, who lived to- 
gether, and for whom, after their conversion, he 
procured the means of an honest subsistence, 
turning their house of infamy into a church, 
which was called St. Mary Magdalene. He used 
to say, that these poor sinners, who had been 
brought to true repentance, were far superior to 
the self-righteous inhabitants of the nunnery. 
He also established a seminary at Prague, for 
the instruction of young men in scriptural divi- 
nity ; and, in general, by the bold and fearless 
manner in which he delivered his doctrines, both 
from the pulpit and by his writings, caused many 
people in Bohemia, and other countries, to with- 
draw from the communion of the church of Rome. 
The emperor, Charles iv. esteemed this man 
highly ; but the hatred of the pope against him 
was greatly increased by his visiting Rome, 
whither, as he himself writes, his conscience 
urged him to go, in order to bear his public testi- 
mony against the doctrines and dissolute lives of 
the popish clergy ; for which, on his return, he 
was cast into prison, by Ernest, archbishop of 
Prague. The prelate, however, was soon after 
obliged to release him, for fear of the people, by 
whom he was highly respected, and he went and 
preached in Moravia, Silesia, and Poland. Per- 
secution followed him even into this remote 
country ; for the pope sent an order to the 
archbishop of Gnesen, to use the utmost rigour in 
putting the ecclesiastical laws in force against 



8 



FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 



this excommunicated heretic. The cruel edict 
arrived too late ; for it had pleased the Lord to 
call his faithful servant, whom he had blessed 
with such success in advancing' his kingdom, into 
everlasting joy, by an easy and happy death. 

Some years before Militach, and afterwards, 
in conjunction with him, Conrad Stickna dis- 
tinguished himself at Prague, by boldly preaching 
the gospel. He was a native of Austria, where, 
at that time, many faithful confessors of the 
truth lived in peace. From the pulpit he zeal- 
ously reprobated the vices of his day ; sparing 
neither the clergy nor the court, nor fearing the 
loss of fame or life. His discourses frequently 
produced great effect. Having once, with great 
zeal, declaimed against the pomp and indecency 
of dress then in fashion, the ladies of rank at 
Prague were so affected, that they immediately 
laid aside their vain and gaudy attire, and sub- 
stituted a dress more simple and becoming. 
Like Militach, he exhorted his hearers to the 
proper and devout celebration of the Lord's sup- 
per ; and to receive both the bread and wine. 
He died in 1369, and was interred in the bury- 
ing-ground belonging to the castle church, leav- 
ing his name in blessed remembrance, as a faith- 
ful witness of the truth. 

Of the same spirit was his cotemporary, Mat- 
thew Janowsky. He had studied divinity at 
Paris, and was the favourite confessor of the 
emperor, but also a zealous preacher against the 
abuses and sins prevailing in the church. Ashe 
enjoyed the emperor's confidence, he besought 
him to attempt the reform of the church by a 
general council. The emperor answered, that 



CHRISTIAN ERA, TO A. D . 1373. 



9 



this power belonged exclusively to the pope of 
Rome ; to whom therefore he immediately ap- 
plied. The pope was so much exasperated by 
the proposal, that he did not rest till he had com- 
pelled the emperor to banish his faithful friend 
Janowsky. Being, however, soon permitted to 
return to his native country, he closed his use- 
ful life in peaceful retirement. On his death-bed, 
he comforted his friends with the hopes of better 
times. " The rage of the enemies of the truth," 
said he, " seems now to prevail, but it will not 
always continue so ; for there shall arise a small 
mean people, without sword or power, whom the 
adversary shall not be able to withstand." He 
added, that only one of that company should see 
it. The brethren remark that one among them, 
namedWenceslas, lived to so great an age, that, 
sixty years after, he was a witness to the formation 
of the church of the United Brethren, and be- 
came a member of it. Janowsky departed this 
life in the year 1394. 

It is worthy of notice, that about this time, 
when so many servants of Christ appeared in 
Bohemia, that John WicklifT, the great witness 
to the truth, arose in England, and boldly op- 
posed the corrupt principles prevailing in the 
Romish church. He was born a.d. 1324, and 
died 1384. 

The most celebrated of the witnesses for the 
truth, whom God raised up in Bohemia at this 
sad period, was the martyr, John Huss. As the 
unity of the brethren traces its origin from the 
descendants of this faithful witness, we shall, in 
the next chapter, give a few particulars of his 
history. 



CHAPTER II. 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO THE ORIGIN OF THE 
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN, 1373. 

John Huss, who was the son of poor parents, 
was born at a village called Hussinez, in 1373. 
Having* received some education at the public 
school of a neighbouring town, called Pracha- 
tiz, he became servant to a professor at Prague, 
who lent him some books, and assisted him in 
prosecuting his studies. In his twentieth year 
be became master of arts, and soon after was 
appointed professor of divinity in the university 
of Prague. A wealthy inhabitant of that city, 
having just at that time built the church called 
Bethlehem, with a view to the preaching of the 
gospel in the German and Bohemia languages, 
John Huss was nominated minister of it, in the 
year 1400 ; he was also chosen by the queen 
of Bohemia to be her confessor, which office 
introduced him to great favour .at court. In 
these situations he distinguished himself, by his 
great knowledge of the scriptures, by his pow- 
erful eloquence, and by his holy and self-deny- 
ing life. He openly attacked the vices of the 
court and the people, and, at the same time, 
was regarded by the clergy as a man of God. 

About this time, the writings of WicklifF, the 
great English reformer, made their appearance 



JOHN HUSS. 



11 



4n Bohemia, and fell into the hands of Huss. At 
r ;st he thought them rather too bold, and even 
dangerous ; the university of Prague having, in 
the year 1403, condemned, as heretical, twenty- 
five of the propositions contained in them, and for- 
bidden any one to teach or profess them, on pain 
of being burnt to death. The more, however, 
Huss studied these works, the more he became 
convinced of their agreement with the scriptures, 
and with the ancient fathers of the church ; and 
he boldly avowed in his preaching, that he 
considered WicklifF a righteous and holy man. 
From this time he made constant progress in 
these principles, and when he subsequently 
witnessed the manner in which the reformer was 
persecuted, he no longer doubted that the papal 
tyranny was the reign of antichrist. 

For a considerable time, as long as he abstained 
from attacking the clergy, he was suffered to pro- 
ceed in peace. Of this we may mention a striking 
instance. When, at the beginning of his course, 
he dwelt merely upon the general principles of 
a strict morality, and confined his reproofs to 
the court and the people in general, some of the 
courtiers complained of him to the bishop, in 
the presence of the king ; the prelate replied, 
that Huss, at his ordination, had taken an oath 
to speak the truth without respect of persons. 
Afterwards, when Huss began to attack the ir- 
regularities of the clergy, and the archbishop, in 
his turn, appealed to the king to silence him, the 
monarch replied, in his own words, " Has not 
Huss taken an oath to speak the truth without 
respect of persons V* 



12 



FROM JOIIX HUSS, TO 



Another circumstance that increased the ad- 
herents of this faithful witness to the truth wa. 
this : the people had not forgotten that the 
country had been originally connected with 
the Greek church, and had only been brought 
under the Romish yoke by a long course of 
intrigue and oppression. The people still re- 
membered their ancient religious liberty, when 
Divine service was conducted in their own 
language and they partook of the communion 
in both kinds, and when the marriage of their 
priests was lawful. These privileges were fre- 
quently adverted to by their faithful preachers, 
while Rome itself ceased not, by its continual 
attacks upon the remaining freedom they en- 
joyed, to excite and irritate their feelings. Thus 
it was, that, in complaisance to the pope, Charles 
iv. in the year 1361, granted to the Germans 
in the university of Prague (who as Roman 
catholics might be supposed to favour the 
papal influence) privileges and rights which 
properly belonged only to the Bohemians. This 
occasioned a long and obstinate struggle between 
the foreigners and the natives of the country, 
which ended in Huss obtaining from the king a 
decree, restoring to the Bohemians their ancient 
rights. Upon this, many thousands of the Ger- 
mans quitted the city ; and Huss, who, in re- 
ward for his service, was elected rector of the 
university, was so much the more hated by the 
partisans of the pope. The most formidable of 
these was archbishop Sbinek, who obtained from 
the court of Rome an order, interdicting Huss 
from preaching in the chapel of Bethlehem ; but 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373 13 

he paid no attention to it, and replied, that he 
must obey God rather than man. The mass of the 
population agreed in the same sentiments ; and 
when, in 1410, the archbishop ordered more 
than 200 volumes of WicklifTs writings to be 
burned in the court of his palace, they ridiculed 
his ignorance in their songs. In fact, this intole- 
rant man had never learned to read till he was 
nominated to the bishopric, which induced the 
people to say that he condemned authors which 
he could not even read. 

Huss publicly protested against this unreason- 
able conduct, which had no other object than 
the debasement of the people, and tended only 
to provoke them to revolt. Upon this protest 
of Huss, the clergy accused him of heresy to the 
pope, John xxiii. He was summoned to Rome, 
and, as he could not safely go in person, he sent 
an advocate thither to defend him. The latter 
was thrown into prison ; Huss was denounced 
as a heretic, and excommunicated with his 
partisans, and the pope pronounced, by antici- 
pation, an interdict on every place where he 
should be received. The protection of the king, 
however, prevented the execution of the sen- 
tence ; Huss appealed to a general council, and 
continued to spread the doctrines of WicklifF, 
adding however, as the witnesses for the truth 
have always done, that he was ready to retract 
his opinions if it could be proved from the scrip- 
tures that he was in error. At the same time, 
he began to prepare for the martyrdom that 
awaited him. 

It was in 1412 that he made his boldest attack 
c 



14 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



upon the pope, John xxiii. in consequence of 
the latter having proclaimed, through all Europe, 
a crusade against the king of Naples, and the 
twoanti-popes, Gregory xii. and Benedict xiii. 
promising remission of sins to all who should 
assist him in that war. Huss, and his friend Je- 
rome, strenuously opposed this scandalous mea- 
sure, and published doctrinal theses against it. 
The sellers of the papal indulgences were publicly 
insulted by the citizens ; and when the magis- 
trates, regardless of the remonstrances of Huss, 
caused three of the rioters to be beheaded, the 
people honoured them as martyrs, and buried 
their bodies in the chapel of Bethlehem. In con- 
sequence of these proceedings, Prague was laid 
under an interdict ; the churches were closed, 
and all public worship was suspended, so long as 
Huss should continue in the city. He now judged 
it best to yield to the storm, and retire ; but he still 
preached in the neighbouring towns and villages, 
and in the open fields, with such power and suc- 
cess, that, as it always happens in such cases, his 
expulsion contributed to the spread of the gospel. 
He, moreover, drew up a solemn appeal from 
the decree of the pope, to Christ the righteous 
Judge. 

At this time the whole western church was 
looking forward to the general council, which 
was to assemble at Constance on the 1st of No- 
vember, 1414. The primary object of this coun- 
cil, was to put an end to the disgraceful troubles 
arising from the competition of three popes for 
the papacy. There was also throughout Christ- 
endom a universal cry for a reformation in the 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 15 

church, and the Romish authorities wished to 
adopt some means to allay the religious excite- 
ment that had been caused by the labours of 
WicklifT and Huss. Before this council Huss 
was summoned to appear ; and, as the emperor 
had promised him a safe conduct, he declared 
publicly, by placards fixed on the doors of all 
the churches, seminaries, and convents of Bohe- 
mia, that he was ready to go and answer the 
summons, calling upon all, who could convict 
him of any error, to meet him upon that occa- 
sion. At his request, not only the archbishop 
of Prague, but even the judge of heretics in Bo- 
hemia, gave him a certificate of orthodoxy ; and 
the king sent with him as companions three dis- 
tinguished noblemen, one of whom was John de 
Chlum, whose name will appear in the subse- 
quent history. 

On taking leave of his friends the reformer 
thus addressed them : — " You know that I have 
taught you no error : continue in the truth, 
and trust in the mercy of God : beware of false 
teachers. I am going to this great assembly, 
where the Lord will give me grace to endure 
trials, imprisonment, and even the most dreadful 
death, if it be his will. Whatever happens, how- 
ever, our joy will be great, when we meet in the 
everlasting mansions." 

On the 11th of October, Huss set out for Con- 
stance. In all the towns and villages through 
which he passed, the people flocked in crowds 
to see this celebrated man ; everywhere he was 
received with enthusiasm. At Nuremburg he 
received the emperor's safe conduct, which 



16 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



seemed to ensure his safety, being couched in 
the following terms : — " The emperor has taken 
under his protection, and that of the holy Roman 
empire, the honourable master John Huss, who 
is going to the council of Constance, command- 
ing all his states, magistrates, and subjects to 
let him pass, stop, go and come, rest, and return 
in safety to his home, by all the roads, gates, 
bridges, lordships, cities, towns, villages, and 
castles, without any hindrance or obstacle to 
himself, his attendants, horses, carriages, and 
property of every kind." We shall soon see how 
this safe conduct was afterwards observed ! 

At Nuremburg, Huss posted up, as he had 
done before in all the great cities, placards, an- 
nouncing that he was going to Constance to 
defend the faith against his accusers. He arrived 
in that city on the 3rd of November, and took 
up his lodging at the house of a baker's widow, 
not far from the place which the pope had chosen 
for his residence. The next day he sent to in- 
form the latter of his arrival, adding, that since 
he had the emperor's safe conduct, he hoped 
that the head of the clergy would also grant him 
his protection. The pope received the Bohe- 
mian gentlemen, the bearers of this message, with 
the greatest politeness, saying, among other 
things, that even if Huss had assassinated his 
own brother, no harm should be done to him 
while he was at Constance. He, even after a 
conference with the cardinals, took off the inter- 
dict which he had pronounced against Huss. 
But these favourable appearances soon vanished. 
Some of the clergy, among whom was one of his 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 17 

youthful associates, represented him in public 
placards as a heretic : they presented to the 
pope and cardinals garbled extracts, to prove his 
doctrines erroneous ; and accused him of acting 
as a rebel against the authority of the church. 

Accordingly, Huss was cited, on the 28th of 
November, before the pope and several of the 
cardinals, who informed him that he was accused 
of heresy. He replied, that he would rather die 
than knowingly propagate any error ; and that 
he was ready to retract what he had advanced, 
as soon as it was proved to be false. Although 
they appeared satisfied with this answer, they did 
not suffer him to return to his lodging, but sent 
him under a guard to the house of a prebendary 
of the cathedral, where he was confined for a 
week. His friend De Chlum complained loudly 
of this violation of the emperor's safe conduct ; 
but the pope replied, that he could do nothing, 
being himself in the power of the cardinals. On 
this De Chlum wrote to the emperor, who or- 
dered Huss to be set at liberty ; but the pope 
opposed the execution of the order. De Chlum, 
and many of the Bohemian noblemen, protested 
vehemently against this act of treachery, but 
without effect. When the emperor himself ar- 
rived at Constance, about christmas, the clergy 
brought him over to their sentiments, and per- 
suaded him that he had no power to take under 
his protection a man, who, if not guilty, was at 
least accused of heresy. 

Huss was then removed from his more tolerable 
prison, to a loathsome dungeon in a monastery 
of the Dominicans, situated on the Rhine, where 
c 2 



18 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



lie was taken dangerously ill. A commission was 
issued for his trial, and while his enemies sought 
everywhere for witnesses against him, they re- 
fused him the assistance of an advocate for his 
defence. 

Two months afterwards, on the 3rd of March, 
1415, Huss was again removed to another pri- 
son, where he remained until the 20th of the 
same month. At this time, a striking example 
occurred of the vicissitude of human affairs ; for, 
on that same day, pope John xxiii. who had 
imprisoned him, fled in disguise, in order to avoid 
the abdication to which the council were about 
to compel him. Huss, in the mean time, had 
been carried to the castle of Gottleben, on the 
other side of the Rhine, whither, very soon after, 
the pope was also brought, having been appre- 
hended in his flight. Huss was allowed to walk 
in the day-time, chained, under the vaults of 
this prison ; but in the night he was fastened by 
a padlock to the wall near his bed. During this 
gloomy captivity, which lasted more than six 
months, he composed several religious works ; 
and wrote letters to his friends in Bohemia, to 
strengthen them in the faith, and to inform them 
of the sufferings he was enduring for Christ. 
These letters furnish abundant proof of the con- 
stancy of his faith, and his fervent piety. 

Jerome of Prague, the friend of Huss, was 
also imprisoned at the same time, having gone to 
Constance with a similar promise of safe conduct. 

The nobles of Bohemia and Moravia did not 
cease to complain, both to the emperor and to 
the council, that their beloved teacher, whom 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 19 

they considered perfectly innocent, should be suf- 
fered thus to languish in prison; and, at length, 
the 5th of June was fixed upon for his solemn 
examination, previous to which he was removed 
from the castle of Gottleben to a monastery of the 
Franciscans. A commission of cardinals, bishops, 
and other ecclesiastics having assembled, they 
examined the charges laid against him, and were 
about to condemn him without a hearing, when 
De Chlum, and another Bohemian lord, protested 
against such a proceeding, and obtained an order 
from the emperor that the accused should be 
heard. But when he began to reply to the accu- 
sations against him, by appealing to the scrip- 
tures and the writings of the fathers of the church, 
they raised an uproar, and poured upon him such 
a torrent of reproaches, that he was compelled to 
keep silence. The emperor then resolved upon 
being present at the meetings on the 7th and 8th 
of June, to maintain order. This measure had the 
effect of procuring for Huss a hearing ; but it was 
of no avail to his cause. His enemies required 
him to submit, without any reserve, to the judg- 
ment of the council ; to retract all that he had 
erroneously advanced, and even what had been 
falsely imputed to him ; as for example, among 
other absurdities, that he had pretended to be a 
fourth person in the Deity, &c. Huss conjured 
the assembly, that they would not compel him to 
abjure errors which he had never held ; but as 
neither the entreaties of the emperor, nor those 
of the council, could induce him to make the ab- 
solute recantation which they required, he was 
pronounced an obstinate heretic, and threatened 



20 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



with the punishment inflicted on such persons. 
Huss, upon this, commended his cause to God 
the heavenly Judge, and was led back to his 
prison. De Chlum, in the most friendly manner, 
took him by the hand, comforted him, and ex- 
horted him to be stedfast. The emperor how- 
ever declared, that if he did not recant, he de- 
served to be burned. Several of the more mode- 
rate prelates endeavoured to prevail upon him, 
while in prison, to make the required recanta- 
tion ; but he refused to the last to submit to the 
imputation of heresy, although it were to save 
his life. 

He had at this period, while in prison, a re- 
markable dream. He dreamed that he was em- 
ployed in Bethlehem church, in painting on the 
walls a likeness of the Saviour, which a stranger 
coming in immediately effaced. Thereupon se- 
veral other skilful artists came and restored the 
painting in a more beautiful style than before ; 
and the bishops and clergy found it quite im- 
possible, with all their efforts, to efface it again. 
Upon this he awoke full of joy. The brethren 
of the renewed church thought they saw in this 
an image of what has really happened. We 
know that the peculiar feature of their church, 
after its revival, was an ardent attachment to the 
exhibition of the sufferings of Christ crucified. 

In one of his last letters, addressed to the faith- 
ful in Bohemia, Huss, foreseeing that his death 
was near, addressed a farewell exhortation to the 
religious and civil authorities of his country ; 
he recommended to their gratitude the two 
nobles, De Duba and De Chlum, who had so 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 21 

faithfully assisted him in his troubles, and con- 
cluded in the following terms : — 

" I address this letter to you from my dun- 
geon, and in bonds, expecting that the council 
will to-morrow pronounce on me the sentence of 
death, and being fully persuaded that the Lord 
will not forsake me. He will not permit me to 
deny his truth, or to retract errors which I have 
never advanced. I cannot describe to you all 
the mercy which the Lord my God displays to- 
wards me, and by which he enables me to bear 
my great trials ; you will only fully know it 
when we shall have entered, by the grace of God, 
into the joys of eternity. Love one another ; 
this is my last intreaty. Hinder no one from 
bearing witness to the truth, and use all your 
endeavours to prevent the persecution of be- 
lievers/' 

All attempts to make this courageous martyr 
retract his opinions having failed, the emperor 
Sigismond, on the 5th of July, sent the two no- 
blemen, De Chlum and De Duba, with four 
bishops, to receive his last declaration. The 
deputation came to his prison, and on his being 
brought out of the dungeon into their presence 
he was thus addressed by his worthy friend, De 
Chlum: — 

" Dear doctor, unlearned laymen, as we are, 
cannot easily advise you in this important mat- 
ter ; but we intreat you to examine yourself, 
whether your conscience accuses you of the 
things laid to your charge. If you are guilty, 
be not ashamed to embrace better sentiments ; 
but, if your conscience bears witness that you 



22 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



are innocent, beware of doing any thing that 
may offend it, or of lying in the sight of God. 
Rather give up your life than the truth/' At 
this address from his friend, Huss burst into 
tears, and with great gentleness replied, — 
"Worthy man, God is my witness, that I would 
submit and willingly retract, if I had advanced 
any thing false, any doctrine not according to the 
scriptures and the holy church. I wish nothing 
more than to be corrected by the scriptures ; if 
they reprove me, I am quite ready to recant." 
One of the bishops present asked him if he pre- 
tended to be wiser than all the council ; Huss 
replied, " Give me only the most inconsiderable 
person in the assembly, who will explain the 
truth to me more clearly than I have understood 
it, and I will cordially receive it from him." " You 
see," exclaimed the bishops, " how obstinate 
and hardened this man is in his heresy." Upon 
this they ordered him to be led back to his dun- 
geon, and went to make their report to the em- 
peror. 

The next day, July 6th, which was the forty- 
third anniversary of the birth-day of Huss, all 
the council assembled at their fifteenth general 
sitting, to pronounce sentence on him. The 
emperor himself appeared in great state, accom- 
panied by the princes of the empire, and all the 
nobility. The bishop of Riga ordered the ac- 
cused to be brought from his prison by the sol- 
diers, and led to the cathedral, where a crowd of 
people were assembled, besides cardinals, bishops, 
priests, and doctors of divinity and of law. 
Cardinal D'Ostia was chosen president of the 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 23 

assembly in the room of the deposed pope. The 
emperor was seated on the throne, with the crown 
on his head ; at his right hand stood Lewis the 
elector and count palatine, with the imperial 
globe, and on his left the marquess of Nurem- 
berg, with the sword. The archbishop of Gnesen 
read mass, and implored with tears the interces- 
sion of the holy virgin for the extirpation of 
heresy. They then chanted the litany, begin- 
ning with Exaudi nos Domine ! " Hear, us, 
O Lord !" Next they read the gospel, " Beware 
of false prophets," &c. and concluded by sing- 
ing " Veni Creator Spiritus ! " Come Holy 
Ghost, Creator, come !" Huss was held in 
custody outside the door during the mass, that 
the service might not be profaned by his pre- 
sence. After the service, he was brought into 
the council, and placed on an elevated platform, 
that he might be seen by all. This was his first 
and last appearance in the public and general 
sittings of his unjust judges. 

The bishop of Lodi then came forward and 
• delivered a discourse in Latin, on those words of 
Paul, " That the body of sin may be destroyed." 
He applied them to the extirpation of heresies, 
then of heretics, and at last to Huss himself, 
closing with these words : " Sire, may your ma- 
jesty then destroy, agreeably to my text, all he- 
resies and errors, and especially this heretic, by 
whose obstinacy and malice so many places have 
been infected with the pestilence of error. This 
holy office is reserved for you, most illustrious 
emperor, and by this glorious action your ma- 
jesty will acquire lasting renown." During all 



24 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



this time Husswas on his knees praying to God, 
with his hands clasped together. The sermon 
being ended, they once more condemned the 
propositions of WicklifY, and began to read the 
accusations against Huss. He endeavoured to 
reply to the different charges brought against 
him, but his enemies ordered him to be silent, 
telling him that he had been heard enough al- 
ready ; and when he attempted to refute some 
of the grosser calumnies, they commanded the 
officers to prevent him from speaking. Finding 
that they would not, in compliance with his earn- 
est intreaties, suffer him to speak, he again fell 
on his knees, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, 
he commended his cause, with a loud voice, to 
his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

After the reading of the accusation, the bishop 
of Concordia advanced to the pulpit, and read 
aloud the sentence of the council against the 
person and writings of John Huss, declaring 
the articles extracted from his works to be here- 
tical and damnable, ordering his books to be 
publicly burned wherever they might be found, 
and pronouncing him a heretic, and that as such 
he ought to be condemned, and degraded from 
his priestly office. Huss heard the sentence with 
calmness, and then broke out into the following 
prayer : " O Lord God, I beseech thee, for thy 
mercy's sake, to pardon all my enemies ; for thou 
knowest that I have been falsely accused, en- 
tangled by false witnesses, overwhelmed with 
calumnies, and at last unjustly condemned. But 
do thou forgive them this sin, for thy mercy's 
sake." The bishop looked at him with anger 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 25 

while he was uttering these words, and treated 
them as hypocritical expressions. 

They proceeded then to the execution of the 
sentence; and first they degraded him from his 
office as a priest. For this purpose the arch- 
bishop of Milan, and six other bishops, led him 
to a table, on which lay the priestly habits, with 
which they invested him, as if he were about to 
perform mass. When the alb (the white sur- 
plice) was put on him, he said, " My Lord Jesus 
Christ was also clothed in a white robe by Herod, 
and sent by him to Pilate. " As soon as he was 
fully clad in the priestly vestments, the bishops 
once more exhorted him to save his life by re- 
canting his errors, while yet an opportunity was 
afforded him ; but Huss, addressing the people 
from the scaffold, cried out, with great emotion, 
the tears flowing from his eyes, " These bishops 
are exhorting me to retract my errors ! If the 
only consequence were the reproach of man, I 
might easily be persuaded ; but I am now in the 
presence of my God, and I cannot yield to them 
without wounding my conscience, and blasphem- 
ing my Lord, who is in heaven ; for I have always 
taught, written, and preached doctrines contrary 
to those of which they now accuse me. How 
could I dare to lift my eyes to heaven, if I were 
to make such a recantation ? How could I ever 
meet the multitude of persons I have instructed, 
if I should now impeach those doctrines which 
I have taught them, and which they have re- 
ceived as eternal truths ? Shall I cause them to 
stumble by an example so base ? No, I will not 
do it ; I will not value my body, which must at 

D 



26 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



all events die, more than the everlasting salva- 
tion of those whom I have instructed." On this 
the bishops and all the clergy exclaimed, M Now 
we see his obstinacy and malice in his heresy;" 
and he was ordered immediately to descend from 
the scaffold. 

When he had come down, the bishops com- 
menced the ceremonies of degradation. The 
archbishop of Milan and the bishop of Besan- 
§on approached him, and took the cup from his 
hands, saying, u Accursed Judas, who hast for- 
saken the counsel of peace, and allied thyself 
with the Jews. Behold we take from thee the 
cup in which the blood of Christ is offered for 
tlie salvation of the world ; thou art no longer 
worthy of it." Huss replied with a loud voice, 
" I place all my confidence and hope in God 
my Saviour. I know He will never take from 
me the cup of salvation, but that by his grace I 
shall drink it to-day in his kingdom." The 
other bishops then came forward, and taking 
from him, one after another, some part of the 
sacerdotal vestments, they each pronounced a 
different malediction. Huss answered, " Most 
gladly do I endure all this reproach for the love 
of the truth, and the name of my Lord Jesus 
Christ." It only now remained to deprive him 
of the tonsure, and here a violent dispute arose 
among the bishops, whether they should use the 
razor or the scissors for this purpose. Huss 
could not refrain from turning to the emperor 
and saying, " Is it not strange, that, cruel as 
they all are, they cannot agree as to the mode 
of executing their cruelty?" After a long de- 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 27 



bate, they declared for the scissors, and with 
them they cut off his hair in the form of a cross. 
They also scraped the nails of his fingers with a 
knife, to take from him the holy oil, and to 
erase the pretended characters of the priesthood. 

When the ceremony of degradation was finish- 
ed, the bishops cried out, " The holy council of 
Constance expels John Huss from the priesthood, 
and the sacred office with which he was invested, 
and thus declares that the holy church of God 
separates herself from this man, and delivers 
him over to the secular power. " Before proceed- 
ing further, however, they put on his head a 
paper mitre, about two feet high, on which were 
painted three devils, and an inscription in large 
characters, Heresiarch ; " Arch-heretic." Huss, 
on seeing it, comforted himself with these words, 
" My Lord Jesus bore for me, a poor sinner, a 
much more painful crown of thorns, and even the 
ignominious death on the cross. Therefore, for his 
sake, I shall most cheerfully bear this, which is 
much easier." Then the bishops cried aloud, 
66 Now we deliver up your soul to Satan, and to 
hell." "But I," said Huss, "commit my soul 
to my gracious Lord Jesus Christ." The bishops 
then turning to the emperor, said, " The holy 
council of Constance now delivers up to judg- 
ment, and to the secular arm, John Huss, who 
no longer sustains any office in the church." 

As the wicked generally try to execute their 
scandalous designs by others rather than them- 
selves, his enemies now transmitted the martyr 
from hand to hand. The emperor, lending him- 
self to this farce, received the criminal in the 



28 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



character of supreme judge, and said to Louis, 
the elector and count palatine, " Dear uncle 
and prince, as we bear not the sword in vain, 
but for the punishment of evil doers, take this 
John Huss, and deal with him, in our name, as 
it is proper to do with a heretic." The count 
palatine, then laying aside his robes of state, 
executed the order, and delivered over Huss to 
the mayor of the city, with these words, " By 
order of our most gracious sovereign, the Roman 
emperor, take this John Huss, and burn him as 
a heretic." The mayor delivered him over to 
the executioners and his assistants, and ordered 
them expressly not to take off any of his gar- 
ments, his girdle, his purse, his knife, or any 
thing which was upon him, but to burn him with 
every thing that he had about him. 

In this manner he was led out to the place of 
execution, which was a meadow in the midst of 
the gardens before the city ; two of the count 
palatine's guard took him between them ; two 
of the executioner's servants walked before, and 
two behind ; the whole number that escorted 
him, besides the princes and the nobles, was 
reckoned at eight hundred soldiers. The con- 
course of people was so great, that they were 
obliged to shut the gates of the city, and only 
to let them out by companies, lest the bridge 
should break down under them. 

The behaviour of Huss, on his way to the 
place of execution, was dignified, and even joy- 
ful. As he passed the archbishop's palace, see- 
ing his enemies burning his books in the great 
square, he smiled at this empty display of malice. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373- 29 



He intreatecl the people who accompanied him, 
not to believe that he suffered for any heresy, 
and declared that his enemies had calumniated 
him through hatred and envy. Proceeding a 
little further, he cried out, with great earnestness, 
" O, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have 
pity upon me and he continued to utter simi- 
lar petitions till he came to the place of execution. 
The people who listened to him, said, " We 
know not what this man has taught and preached 
before, but we hear nothing from him now but 
holy discourses and christian prayers. " 

When he arrived at the place of execution, he 
fell on his knees, lifted up his eyes to heaven, 
and prayed aloud, in language taken from the 
31st and 51st psalms, repeating, with great em- 
phasis, this verse : " Into thine hand I commit 
my spirit ; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God 
of truth. " While he was at prayer, the paper 
mitre having fallen from his head, he looked at it 
smiling; on which some of the guards around 
him said, " Put it on again ; let him be burned 
with the devils, the masters he has served." 
Huss began to pray again, " Lord Jesus, I cheer- 
fully suffer this terrible and cruel death, for the 
sake of thy holy gospel, and the preaching of 
thy sacred word : do thou forgive my enemies 
the crime they are committing. " On this the ex- 
ecutioners, by order of the count palatine, made 
him cease, and compelled him to walk three 
times round the pile. He then requested per- 
mission to speak to his jailors ; and when they 
were come, he said, " 1 thank you, most se- 
riously, my friends, for all the kindness you 



30 



FROM JOHN IIUSS, TO 



have shown me, for you have behaved to me 
more as brethren than as keepers. Know, also, 
that my trust in my Saviour is unshaken, for 
whose name I willingly suffer this death, being 
assured that I shall be with him to-day in para- 
dise." 

The executioners then took him, and bound 
him to a stake with wet ropes. But as his face 
happened to be turned to the east, an honour 
of which some thought the heretic was unworthy, 
they unbound him, and turned his face towards 
the west. They afterwards fixed round his 
neck a black rusty chain, on which he said, 
smiling, " My dear Master and Saviour was 
bound for my sake with a harder and heavier 
chain than this. Why should I, a poor sin- 
ful creature, be ashamed of thus being bound 
for him?" The executioners then began to put 
the wood in order. They placed some bundles 
of light wood under his feet, and heaped straw 
and large wood around him up to his neck. 
Before they set fire to the pile, the count pala- 
tine, and the marshal of the empire De Pappen- 
heim, exhorted him to recant his doctrines, in 
order to save his life. Huss cried aloud from 
the pile, " I call God to witness that I have 
never taught the errors which my enemies falsely 
lay to my charge ; I have, in all my discourses, 
aimed at nothing but to deliver men from the 
bondage of sin : therefore I joyfully confirm 
this day, by my death, the truth which I have 
taught and preached." 

The pile was then lighted, but Huss began to 
sing and to pray aloud several times, in these 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 3 J 



words, " O Christ, Son of God, have mercy on 
me." When he afterwards endeavoured to speak 
again, the wind drove the flames in his face, 
and stopped his utterance ; still, however, his 
head and his lips were observed to move, as if in 
prayer, for a short time, when the sufferings of 
his faithful servant was ended, and the Lord 
called his soul to his eternal rest. The count 
palatine being informed that one of the execu- 
tioner's servants had preserved Huss' cloak and 
girdle, ordered them to be burned, with every 
thing belonging to him, fearing lest the Bohe- 
mians should venerate them as sacred relics. 
When all were # burned, the executioners put the 
ashes of Huss into a cart, with the earth on which 
he had been executed, and threw the whole into 
the Rhine, which flows near, that every possible 
trace of this holy witness for the truth might be 
obliterated. But as an elegy, composed at the 
time, expresses, " His ashes will be scattered 
over every country : no river, no banks will be 
able to retain them ; and those, whom the enemy 
thought to silence by death, sing and publish, 
in every place, that gospel, which their perse- 
cutors thought to suppress.'' 

In the month of May, in the following year, 
Jerome, the fellow labourer of Huss, met the 
same fate, with a courage and joy that even his 
enemies were constrained to admire. 

The nobility and people of Bohemia, who had 
boldly declared themselves in favour of Huss, 
were enraged at the injustice and faithlessness 
which had been displayed in the cruel martyr- 
dom of their teachers, and their hatred of the 



32 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



Romish church was greatly increased. The 
whole nation complained of this iniquitous pro- 
ceeding, in a long memorial, signed by upwards 
of one hundred noblemen, and more than a 
thousand of the gentry. The attachment of the 
numerous friends of Huss to his person was so 
great, that they carried the earth from the place 
of his execution into Bohemia, and commemo- 
rated his martyrdom by medals, pictures, and 
elegies, and by the observance of a service on 
the anniversary of his death ; and the whole na- 
tion openly declared his innocence. 

The council, on their side, without paying any 
attention to these protestations, continued their 
persecutions. The followers of Huss were ex- 
communicated ; their churches were taken from 
them ; money was proferred to any person who 
would deliver them up, and they were cast into 
prison. Hundreds of them were confined in the 
deep mines of Kuttenburg. Others were drown- 
ed or burned ; in short, it was at this time that 
noble army of martyrs arose which so illus- 
triously distinguishes this portion of the history of 
the people of God. We shall mention only tw T o 
instances of this kind. A faithful Hussite pas- 
tor, after a great deal of ill-treatment, was placed 
on the pile, with three peasants and four 
children. When they were, for the last time, ex- 
horted to abjure their heresies, the pastor replied, 
"God preserve us from it! We are ready to 
suffer death ; not once only, but, if it were pos- 
sible, even a hundred times, rather than deny 
that Divine truth which has been so clearly re- 
vealed to us in the gospel." The pile being 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 33 

[ lighted, the pastor took the children in his arms, 
joined with them in a hymn of praise, in the 
midst of the flames, and so yielded up his spirit. 

Nor were the Hussites safe even in foreign 
lands. A rich merchant of Prague, named 
Kroesa, being discovered, by some conversation 
at an inn at Breslau, to hold the doctrines of 
Huss, was thrown into prison. The next day, a 
student from Prague was arrested for the same 
cause, and cast into the same dungeon. The 
student being exceedingly cast down, the mer- 
chant endeavoured to comfort him, " My bro- 
ther, " said he, " how highly are we honoured, 
that we are called to bear a public testimony to 
our Lord Jesus ! The conflict is short, the re- 
ward eternal. Let us think on the bitter death 
of our Saviour, and the sufferings of the numer- 
ous martyrs for the truth." The student, how- 
ever, had not courage to give up his life for the 
gospel, but Kroesa remained firm, and was burned 
alive. 

It was in cruelties like these, repeated and 
multiplied with insatiable ferocity, that the ter- 
rible and well-known Hussite war originated, 
which was carried on for thirteen years with un- 
heard of barbarity, and in which the Hussites 
displayed heroic courage, and obtained signal 
victories over the crusaders whom the pope sent 
against them. As the recital of these events 
would lead us too far from our original design, 
we shall enter into no detail on the subject, but 
only observe, that it is most unjust to impute to 
the gospel of Christ those excesses which were 
really to be attributed to the wickedness of men ; 



34 



FROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



who, while they professed the name, were entire 
strangers to the religion of Christ. Were we to 
admit that the Hussites were wrong in defending 
themselves against their enemies, or rather their 
murderers, we must yet allow that, properly 
speaking, it was not to propagate their religion, 
or even to defend it against unbelievers, that 
they fought, but to protect their persons against 
assassins. 

The Hussites were soon divided into two great 
parties, named the Calixtines and the Taborites. 
The latter took their name from a mountain si- 
tuated near the town of Aust, which at first 
served as a place of meeting for their religious 
assemblies, then for a camp, and at last as their 
principal fortress, which led them to give it the 
name of Tabor ; a term which, in the Bohemian 
language, signifies " a camp." This party, which 
was subsequently divided into two very different 
branches, assumed at first a highly interesting 
aspect. While the Calixtines, a politic and luke- 
warm body, confined themselves almost entirely 
to the demand of a participation of the cup in 
the Lord's supper ; the Taborites insisted with 
great earnestness on the correction of errors in 
doctrine, and the abolition of rites which served 
to foster superstition . They appealed to the scrip- 
tures in every thing, rejecting what did not agree 
with them ; they endeavoured to restore the pri- 
mitive purity and simplicity of the apostolic 
church ; they addressed one another as brethren 
and sisters; and they had one common table. 
Preaching constituted a principal part of their 
worship. Baptism and the Lord's supper were 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 35 

administered with simplicity, and considered as 
the only religious ordinances instituted by Christ. 
Their ministers were not allowed to possess pro- 
perty, but were maintained by the voluntary 
contributions of the people. They considered 
the monastic orders as an invention of the devil ; 
and rejected, as contrary to the word of God, 
the doctrines of the sacrifice of the mass, purga- 
tory, auricular confession, the invocation of the 
saints, the worship of images and relics, and the 
merit of good works. They insisted on the exer- 
cise of a rigorous church discipline, without re- 
spect of persons. Two of their most distin- 
guished teachers were Wenceslas Coranda and 
Nicolas Episcopius. 

Such was the original character of the great 
body of the Taborites. In a short time, how- 
ever, they ceased to confine their views to the 
correction of abuses among themselves. From 
acting on the defensive they proceeded to become 
the aggressors, and attempted to propagate their 
sentiments by force. Wenceslas, the king of 
Bohemia, having died in 1419, and the crown 
having devolved on the emperor Sigismond, the 
Bohemians, who had already refused obedience 
to the pope, were no less unwilling to acknow- 
ledge this sovereign, who had shown himself de- 
voted to the papal interests. Upon this, the em- 
peror marched into Bohemia with a numerous 
army, increased by large bodies of troops col- 
lected from the neighbouring states, whom the 
pope had invited to a crusade against the heretics. 
The war became furious on both sides. The Ta- 
borites demolished the monasteries, stripped the 



36 



FROM JOHN IIUSS, TO 



Romish churches of their ornaments, images, and 
relics, and executed a sanguinary vengeance on 
the priests and monks. Some fanatical priests 
also arose among them, who announced the per- 
sonal coming of Christ to reign with the Tabo- 
rites over his enemies for a thousand years ; and 
hence sprung the two opposite classes into which 
the Taborites were divided, the one consisting of 
spiritual christians, and the other being mere re- 
forming zealots, who, having once engaged in 
war, thought of nothing but maintaining their 
rights by the sword. 

The Calixtines, who were considered for a long 
time as a third party among the Hussites, steered 
a middle course between the two extremes we 
have just mentioned. They were chiefly to be 
found at Prague ; and comprehended in their 
ranks the highest families in the nation, together 
with the principal clergy and professors of the 
university. The timid Rochyzan, whom we shall 
soon see making a considerable figure among 
them, was a pretty fair specimen of this party. 
They reduced their demands to four articles, 
which, however, did not go to the root of the 
e\ il . 

1 . That the word of God should be preached 
freely, and without any obstacle, by the priests 
of the Lord, as Christ commanded his apostles. 

2. That the Lord's supper should be admi- 
nistered to all believers, in both kinds, according 
to our Saviour's institution. 

3. That the clergy should be divested of their 
endowments and worldly possessions, and brought 
back to their primitive simplicity. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 37 

4. That strict discipline should be enforced, 
and every kind of vice severely punished, both 
among the clergy and the laity. 

John Rocky zan, just mentioned, stood high 
among the Calixtines of this period. He was a 
preacher at the cathedral at Prague, and was 
held in such high estimation for his extraordinary 
talents and eloquence, that, in 1427, the general 
superintendence of the churches was entrusted to 
him ; and he even aspired to the archbishopric of 
Prague, which was then vacant. When the pope, 
in 1432, assembled another general council at 
Basil, and invited the Bohemians to repair to it, 
in order to settle their differences with the court 
of Rome in an amicable manner, Rockyzan 
was one of the deputies sent by the Calixtines, 
and Nicolas Episcopius on the part of the Ta- 
borites. 

At this council, after many debates and nego- 
tiations, the' following articles were at length 
agreed upon, in 1433, which were called the 
Compact. 

1. The word of God is to be freely preached, 
but not without the sanction of the spiritual 
authorities, and of the pope himself as a final 
appeal. 

2. The property of the church must be left 
to the management of the clergy, according to 
the precepts of the holy fathers. Whoever seizes 
upon it, commits sacrilege. 

3. Although the administration of the com- 
munion to the people in one kind, has been 
established by the church for wise reasons, yet 
the council, in the plenitude of its power, grants 

E 



38 



FROM JOHN 11USS, TO 



to the Bohemians the use of the cup ; but on the 
express condition, that no one shall be prevented 
from receiving the communion in the ordinary 
way ; and that the people shall be distinctly 
taught, that Christ exists entire in each of the 
elements. 

The Taborites protested against this delusive 
agreement with the Romish church ; and their 
opposition occasioned a new civil war, in which 
the Calixtines themselves took part against them ; 
but it ended in the entire defeat of the Taborites. 
It was not long, however, before the Calixtines 
perceived that Rome had only trifled with them. 
When Rocky zan was chosen archbishop of Prague 
by the states of the empire, the pope refused to 
confirm the election. Rocky zan, who was con- 
vinced in his conscience of the truth of the evan- 
gelical doctrines of Huss, was, by this circum- 
stance, still more irritated against the papal 
authority ; and in this state of mind he was 
led to attempt a scheme that appeared likely to 
prove fatal to the Romish authority amongst 
them : he endeavoured to bring about a union 
between the Bohemian and Greek churches. In 
the year 1450, he prevailed on the states of Bo- 
hemia to send deputies to Constantinople on the 
subject, but three years afterwards that city was 
taken by the Turks, and the project of course 
failed. 

In these times of trouble, the Taborites, re- 
duced by their sufferings to the remnant of real 
christians among them, endeavoured quietly to 
effect a true reformation of the church. Among 
those who particularly distinguished themselves 



TII£ ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 39 



was Gregory of Razerherz, a man full of humi- 
lity, who belonged to a monastery, but was fully 
persuaded of the emptiness of all outward ser- 
vices. As he saw that the Roman catholics, 
notwithstanding all the noise they made about 
good works, were living in sin, and that the Ca- 
lixtines were fallen almost as low, he was led to 
reflect more seriously on what he had read in the 
writings of Huss, and in the holy scriptures, and 
he came to the conclusion that the church re- 
quired to be brought into a very different state. 
Many others united with him in the same senti- 
ments, but as these christians were hardly suf- 
fered to breathe, by reason of the oppression of 
their enemies, they held meetings in secret, in 
different parts of the country, in which they de- 
liberated on the means of bringing about those 
changes which were so desirable. 

Rockyzan himself, although an undecided and 
ambitious man, preached several powerful ser- 
mons about this period, openly declaring that 
the church of Rome was the western Babylon, 
that the pope was the enemy, who was sowing 
the tares of his traditions among the good seed 
of the gospel, that the mass of the people were 
christians merely in name, &c. Ci We," added 
he, " who are called Utraquists, (that is, the Ca- 
lixtines,) we have not yet dived to the bottom of 
things, we are stopping at the surface, and sa- 
tisfy ourselves with pointing out the bad fruits, 
without laying the axe to the root, but after us 
shall arise a people, who will go through the 
work, and accomplish a reformation pleasing to 
God and profitable to man." 



40 



FROM JOHN II CSS, TO 



The Brethren, (for so we shall henceforth call 
those christians, who shortly after associated to- 
gether under that name,) whose desires for the 
deliverance of the church were much more ar- 
dent, resolved not to confine themselves to mere 
wishes, but to set their hands to the work. Fof 
this purpose they applied to Rockyzan himself, 
who received them with kindness, and introduced 
them to other enlightened christians. But they 
wished to proceed to action. " It is not enough," 
said they, "to feel our bonds, we must break 
them." They earnestly conjured Rockyzan to 
renounce whatever he saw to be contrary to the 
faith ; they assured him, that if he would do so, 
they would unite with him at all hazards, remind- 
ing him, that it was much more glorious to suffer 
with the people of God, poor and despised as 
they were, than to share in the prosperity of the 
wicked. They represented to him, that the com- 
plete reformation of the church was far from 
consisting only in the restoration of the cup, and 
that he ought to be faithful to his conscience, 
and to separate entirely from that power, which 
he had himself exhibited as the antichrist. 

Rockyzan gave only evasive answers to these 
powerful appeals, for he loved the praise of men 
rather than the honour that cometh from God, 
and he was not willing to renounce the prospect 
of a bishopric, and the reputation he enjoyed 
throughout Bohemia. He set before them the 
formidable difficulties of the undertaking, stat- 
ing, that by entering into a close alliance with 
them he should expose himself to unneces- 
sary dangers ; but that, if they had sufficient 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373- 41 



courage to act alone, he would not disapprove 
their conduct, &c. His conscience, however, 
constrained him to use his influence on their be- 
half with George Podiebrad, then regent, and 
afterwards king of Bohemia, who w T as himself a 
Calixtine and attached to the brethren. 

At Rockyzan's request, Podiebrad assigned 
them for an asylum, a district in the country of 
Litiz, on the borders of Silesia and Moravia, 
where he allowed them to form a settlement in 
which they might enjoy perfect liberty of con- 
science, and a free exercise of their religious 
principles, To this spot, a considerable number 
of nobles, citizens, and clergy, removed from 
Prague and other parts, who united together 
with the resolution to brave all dangers, in order 
to preserve their religious liberty, and at the 
same time to suffer all things, rather than take 
up arms against their enemies, as the Taborites 
had done. These christians not only adhered 
stedfastlyto the doctrine of John Huss, but they 
were enabled, by the assistance of the Spirit of 
God, to make further progress in the course on 
which he had entered. 

To conduct divine service they were supplied 
with some preachers from among the Calixtines, 
who had renounced the superstitions of their 
former colleagues, particularly Michael Brada- 
sius, the pastor of Zamberg, who, in conjunction 
with several priests of the same sentiments, abo- 
lished many vain ceremonies, and restored the 
discipline which had become lax, admitting none 
to the Lord's supper but those who evidenced 
the reality of their faith bv a christian life and 
e 2 



42 



PROM JOHN HUSS, TO 



conversation. This strictness of discipline, how- 
ever, had the effect of irritating those who were 
not willing to submit to it, and of increasing the 
number and hatred of their enemies. The faith- 
ful clergymen were accused of innovation, and 
degraded. 

The brethren at Litiz were as yet far from being 
independent in their church government ; they 
still received their preachers from the Calixtines, 
who sent them some of such a description, that 
great discontent was excited ; many persons who 
cherished evangelical sentiments left the churches, 
and lived in the neglect of the public ordinances 
of religion. The brethren upon this applied 
again to the Calixtines, who, being less decided, 
continued in the peaceable enjoyment of their 
religious privileges, and had some excellent men 
among them. Rockyzan decidedly opposed these 
measures, which were gradually tending to a 
complete rupture with the established church ; 
but his colleague, Martin Lupacius, though he 
had gone over from the Taborites to the Calix- 
tines, still retained an attachment to his former 
friends, and advised them to persevere with cou- 
rage, adding, that since they met with so many 
difficulties, they ought to cease from seeking as- 
sistance from others, and to consult on the means 
of forming among themselves an independent 
religious constitution, the government of which 
they should confide to suitable men selected from 
their own body. He advised them to take for 
their model the doctrine and discipline of the 
primitive church ; and though, by that step, they 
would draw down upon themselves the hatred of 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 1373. 43 

the Romish party, and of those who were halting 
between two opinions, yet they would do the 
will of God and deliver their own souls. He 
reminded them of the violent struggles which 
the friends of the truth had been forced to main- 
tain in former years, at the same time observing, 
that the church was not to be defended by blood- 
shed and murder. He particularly charged them 
to establish strict order and discipline among 
themselves, and again urged upon them the ne- 
cessity of providing ministers from their own 
body, for whom they might afterwards procure 
regular ordination. Several other Calixtine 
priests gave them the same advice. 

The brethren felt all the importance of this 
advice, and were led to submit the matter wholly 
to Him, who has promised that wherever two 
or three agree together upon earth to ask any 
thing in his name, he will give it to them. 
They therefore met together, for prayer to God 
to make known to them, if it was his will that 
they should withdraw from that church, which 
had now become a spiritual Sodom and Ba- 
bylon, in order to form a church among them- 
selves more consistent with his word. They re- 
ceived what they believed to be an intimation of 
the Divine will in answer to their prayers, and 
immediately commenced the work ; this took 
place in 1457. They then assumed the name of 
United Brethren, and chose from their own 
number three provisional elders, of whom Gre- 
gory, before mentioned, the nephew and colleague 
of Rockyzan, was one, a man eminent for his 
piety, wisdom, and experience in divine things.. 



CHAPTER III. 



PROM THE ORIGIN OF THE UNITED BRETHREN, TO 
THE REFORMATION, 1457 1517. 

Three years had scarcely elapsed since the form- 
ation of the brethren's church, when they were 
called to show by their conduct the spirit by 
which they were animated. Many believers had 
joined them from all parts of the empire, and 
throughout Bohemia and Moravia societies of a 
similar nature began to be formed ; in consequence 
of which the Calixtines and the Romish priests 
denounced them, not only as heretics, but as se- 
ditious men, who were aiming to overturn the go- 
vernment of the country, and to obtain secular 
power. They were summoned before the con- 
sistory of Prague ; and Rocky zan, who until this 
time had secretly assisted them, fearful of losing 
either his office or his reputation, accused them 
of rashly separating from the church, and openly 
declared himself their enemy. He even went so 
far as to urge the king to extinguish this spark by 
a vigorous blow, as he said, before it should burst 
into a flame. George Podiebrad, the king, though 
not personally unfriendly to the brethren, could 
not venture to protect them against such a com- 
bination of enemies, and having at his accession, 
in 1458, taken an oath to extirpate heretics, he 
wished to do something towards fulfilling his 



HISTORY FROM 1457— ] 517. 



45 



engagement, and therefore consented to persecute 
them, hoping by that means to screen the Ca- 
lixtines, who had assisted him in ascending the 
throne. Thus the first persecution commenced. 
The brethren in Moravia, who first felt its effects, 
fled into Bohemia, but here they only encoun- 
tered fresh troubles. They were declared to have 
forfeited their civil rights, their property was 
confiscated, and they were driven in the depth 
of winter from all the towns and villages. The 
sick were left to perish in the fields, where many 
actually died of cold and hunger ; others were 
cast into prison, to force them by hunger, thirst, 
and torture, to confess that they entertained re- 
volutionary designs, and to discover their pre- 
tended accomplices ; and when nothing could 
be extorted from them, they were treated with 
the most horrible cruelty. Many had their hands 
and feet cut off ; others were dragged along the 
ground, quartered, or burnt alive ; others died in 
prison ; and when at last it was found that no- 
thing could be extracted from those who survived 
these atrocities, inflicted by a body calling itself 
a christian church, they were sent home in a state 
of suffering that excited the utmost horror. 

During these persecutions the elders faithfully 
discharged their duty, and incessantly visited the 
brethren, even at the hazard of their own lives, 
to confirm them in the faith and exhort them to 
patience. Among others, Gregory, Rockyzan's 
nephew, already mentioned, went to Prague, in 
1461, to fulfil the perilous duties of his ministry. 
Just as he had assembled the brethren in a pri- 
vate house, to partake of the Lord's supper, one 
of the magistrates, who was in secret friendly to 



46 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



them, sent to advise them to retire. Gregory, 
who thought that christians ought not unneces- 
sarily to expose themselves, was of opinion, that 
they ought to separate immediately without at- 
tending to the ordinance ; others judged it not 
right to depart from their usual custom on this ac- 
count ; some young students especially boasted 
that they did not care for tortures and burnings. 
The assembly was consequently surprised, and the 
officer said to the brethren, in opening the door, 
these words, which were very remarkable as com- 
ing from his mouth ; " It is written, that all who 
will live godly, shall suffer persecution ; follow 
me to prison/' An order had been recently is- 
sued by the king, directing that they should be 
forced by torture to confess their seditious de- 
signs ; and almost all those, who had before 
boasted of their courage, denied the faith through 
fear : Gregory, on the contrary, who is called by 
the historian the patriarch of the brethren, re- 
mained firm. On being put to the torture lie 
fell into a swoon, and, as he afterwards related, 
saw the three men, who six years afterwards were 
chosen by lot as the first bishops of the brethren, 
guarding a tree loaded with fruit, on which were 
a number of birds singing in the most melodious 
strains. Every one thought him dead ; and his 
uncle Rockyzan, on hearing of it, ran to him, 
crying out, " Oh, my poor Gregory ; would to God 
that I was where you are now." Gregory how- 
ever recovered, and was released at Rockyzan's 
request. He lived after this till the year 1474, 
and continued faithfully to watch over the church 
under his care. 

The words uttered by Rockyzan, during Gre- 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 47 



gory's swoon, led the brethren to form some hopes 
respecting him ; they therefore applied to him 
again, entreating him as the first ecclesiastic in 
the kingdom, to whom the states had committed 
the spiritual care of the Bohemians, to attempt a 
reformation of the established church ; or, if that 
were not possible, at least to undertake the di- 
rection of their affairs, in order to prevent a total 
i rupture. As however he persisted in his refusal, 
they broke with him entirely, and in their last let- 
ter thus addressed him, " Thou art of the world, 
and wilt perish with the world/' From that time the 
separation was final, and Rocky zan was so much 
irritated, that several years afterwards he urged 
the king and the consistory to issue fresh orders 
for persecuting them, and remained their bitterest 
enemy till the time of his death, in 1441. 

Observing that these bloody persecutions only 
served to multiply the number of these brethren, 
the bishop of Breslau altered his mode of pro- 
ceeding, and by degrees became satisfied With 
searching for them, and driving them from their 
homes. Upon this they took refuge in the 
mountains and forests, where they concealed 
themselves as well as they could ; but finding, at 
length, that there was no present hope of a re- 
formation in the church, they resolved to take 
the necessary measures for the maintenance of 
the doctrine of salvation, and holy discipline 
among themselves. They had already, as we 
have seen, made choice of some faithful men, 
whom they appointed elders of their churches, 
and to whom they had promised obedience. These 
elders had, among other powers, the right of 



48 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 

assembling around them, whenever they judged 
it needful, the most eminent of the brethren dis- 
persed throughout Bohemia and Moravia, and 
the meetings or synods thus formed were held 
in the most retired parts of the mountains. From 
these meetings they sent directions to the brethren 
respecting their conduct both towards each other, 
and towards the magistrates and people in general. 

One of their chief concerns was, how the mi- 
nisterial office might be supplied after the de- 
cease of the regular ministers, ordained by the 
Calixtines, in case no more of that communion 
should join them. After mature reflection, they 
resolved to follow the advice which Lupacius, 
and other Calixtine priests, had previously given 
them, to choose pastors from among themselves. 
For this purpose the brethren assembled in synod, 
at the village of Lotha, near Richenau, in the year 
1467 ; about seventy persons (priests, gentlemen, 
scholars, citizens, and farmers) being present. 

The meeting was preceded by a fast, and open- 
ed with prayer and reading the scriptures. They 
then proceeded to choose twenty men from among 
the brethren present : from them they selected 
nine of unblemished character, and held in ge- 
neral repute for wisdom and experience in divine 
things. To the other eleven was entrusted the 
further management of the business. They then 
prayed fervently for the nine they had chosen, 
intreating that God would signify his will, whe- 
ther they should be appointed preachers of his 
word ; and the brethren resolved, after the ex- 
ample of the apostles in the nomination of 
Matthias, to abide by the decision of the lot. 



TO TilE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 49 

They went even farther, submitting to the same 
decision not only their choice of the nine, but 
the question whether they should appoint one, 
two, three, or even make no appointment at all. 
For this purpose they prepared twelve papers, 
nine of which were blank and three inscribed 
with the word est, (appointed,) and placed them 
in an urn, so that the whole nine they had chosen 
might possibly have been rejected. After that, 
Gregory, who had been one of the provisional 
elders up to that time, prayed, and exhorted the 
brethren to place entire confidence in the deci- 
sion of their heavenly Father. Nine of the lots 
were then drawn successively from the urn, and 
one of them presented to each of the nine brethren, 
when it was found that three of the brethren, 
Matthias Kunewald, a young man 25 years of 
age, Thomas Pryclaucius, and Elias Krenovius 
were appointed. These men were Teceived by 
the assembly with great joy and thanksgiving, as 
from the hand of God, and all the brethren pro- 
mised them obedience, by giving them the right 
hand of fellowship. 

These three brethren being thus appointed eld- 
ers, or pastors, it remained that they should be 
ordained ; and in order to obviate as far as pos- 
sible the objections and calumnies of their ad- 
versaries, and by all possible means to render 
their church proceedings valid in the eye of the 
law, they resolved to seek episcopal ordination. 
It was in vain to expect such ordination from the 
Romish or Calixtine bishops : the brethren, 
therefore, resolved to make application to the 
Vaudois, who dwelt at that time in considerable 

F 



50 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



numbers in Austria, and who traced trie succes- 
sion of their bishops from the days of the apos- 
tles. With this view they deputed three of their 
ordained ministers, one of whom was Michael 
Bradasius, to Stephen, bishop of the Vaudois, 
who expressed great joy on receiving their report, 
and with great solemnity consecrated these three 
men bishops of the brethren's church. Ten co- 
bishops, or co-elders, were associated with them, 
to assist in the direction of the church. 

These negotiations between the brethren and 
the Vaudois, established a new bond of union be- 
tween the two churches, and made them desirous 
of forming one communion. The doctrine and 
christian conduct of the latter had gained the 
esteem of the brethren, who indeed had never 
found fault with them for any thing but their 
want of sufficient boldness in confessing the truth, 
and for their submitting, in order to escape per- 
secution, to some practices which they could 
not in their consciences approve. The brethren, 
in a friendly manner, represented these things to 
them, and made some other observations, which 
the Vaudois received with greajt humility, ex- 
pressing at the same time the desire they felt of 
attaining to the distinguished zeal of their an- 
cestors ; a rare example of christian virtue in a 
church which had declined from its first warmth 
of affection ! Measures were accordingly taken 
to bring about the desired union, when the design 
was divulged by some evil-minded persons among 
the Vaudois, who disliked this alliance, fearing to 
be involved in the persecutions of the brethren. 
The consequence of this treacherous conduct, was 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 



51 



a dreadful persecution against all the Vauclois who 
were found in Austria. Stephen, their last bishop, 
was burnt, with several others, and the rest en- 
tirely scattered. Many of them, as their ances- 
tors had done in the 12th century, betook them- 
selves to Bohemia and Moravia, where they 
united with the churches of the brethren, which 
were thus considerably increased. The union 
thus formed, together with the circumstance of 
the brethren's receiving ordination from the Vau- 
dois, occasioned their being called the Brethren 
of Bohemia j although they have always been 
careful to disown the name, for several reasons, 
which they allege in the history of their perse- 
cutions. 

If we stop here for a moment, to take a general 
view of the preceding history of these two chris- 
tian societies, we shall find them presenting a 
very interesting spectacle during the dark ages 
which had elapsed, and that they may justly be 
regarded as the witnesses of those times. Each 
of them formed one family and one unbroken 
succession of martyrs, and each of them pro- 
duced a cloud of witnesses to the truth of the 
gospel, who sealed their testimony by the most 
cruel sufferings and the most ignominious death. 
What the Saviour foretold of his disciples, that 
they should be hated, ill treated, tormented, and 
put to death for his name's sake, was fully verified 
in them. These two faithful churches have been , 
to a high degree, honoured with the reproach of 
Christ ; but the hand of their Almighty Lord has 
preserved their existence in the midst of the 
greatest dangers, even to this day. 



52 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 

Scarcely was it known, that the brethren had 
formed among themselves an independent eccle- 
siastical body, when in the year following, (1468,) 
and again at the instigation of Rockyzan, the 
king, George Podiebrad, published, in the as- 
sembly of the states held at Prague, a new edict 
against them, calling upon all classes of persons 
in the country, the clergy, nobility, citizens, and 
peasantry, to make every possible search in their 
respective districts after the Picards, (as they 
then called them, confounding them with the 
Vaudois,) and to seize and proceed against them 
in such a way as should seem best, in order to 
stop, by prompt severity, the progress of schism. 
In a short time all the prisons of Bohemia, es- 
pecially those of Prague, were filled with the 
persecuted, many of whom died of hunger, and 
others endured the most inhuman treatment. 
Among others, Michael, the first bishop of the 
brethren, languished in confinement till the death 
of the king. Others were obliged again to take 
refuge in the depths of the forests, and to hide 
themselves in caves, where they lived as the 
saints of old, " of whom the world was not wor- 
thy/' Fearing, lest the smoke should betray 
their retreat in the day time, they kindled their 
fires only at night, and round these fires they read 
the bible and prayed. If they were obliged to 
go out in the snow in search of food, they walked 
one after another in such a manner, that the one 
who walked behind trod in the steps of him who 
had gone before, and the last dragged a piece 
of brushwood after him in order to efface the 
footmarks, or to make them appear like those of 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 53 

some poor man, who had been picking up wood 
in the forest. It was on account of this dwelling 
in caverns, that their enemies gave them in deri- 
sion the name of Caverners, ( Jamnici.) Thus 
they lived, notwithstanding all the apologies 
they could present to the king, the consistories, 
or the states, until 1471, when it pleased God to 
put an end to the persecution by the death both of 
the king and Rockyzan. 

Under the next sovereign, Wladislas, the bre- 
thren enjoyed rest and peace for a considerable 
time. Their enemies, it is true, renewed their ef- 
forts to induce the king to persecute them, and had 
prevailed so far as to obtain a new edict against 
them ; but the brethren presented so powerful a 
refutation of the calumnies urged against them, 
that for once they were treated with respect. Not 
succeeding in this, their adversaries (in 1476) 
tried a new plot, in order to excite the people 
against them, and thus to force the king to perse- 
cute them. With this view they suborned a worth- 
less fellow, w r ho gave out, that he had been an 
elder among the Picards, but that his conscience 
had forced him to leave them and return to the 
bosom of the true church ; adding, that he would 
now, to prove the sincerity of his repentance, 
disclose the secret iniquity of those abominable 
people. He declared, that the most horrible 
blasphemies were uttered in their private meetings, 
that they abused the Lord's supper and bap- 
tism, and committed all sorts of wickedness, 
that they practised witchcraft, and that they had 
murdered many persons for the purpose of 
f 2 



54 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



robbing them, and by this means had amassed 
immense riches. 

As at this time such reports could not be pub- 
lished by means of the press, they paraded this 
man through all parts of the country, and ex- 
hibited him in the churches, in order to do 
penance. With a great affectation of sanctity, he 
related the horrors of the sect, and recommended 
himself to the intercession of all pious christians, 
exhorting them to avoid all intercourse with the 
Picards. Wherever he could not go in person, 
they sent copies of his confession signed by a 
number of witnesses, accompanied with earn- 
est cautions from the most eminent of the clergy, 
which were read publicly from the pulpits. 
This fraud produced very injurious effects for a 
time ; no apology on the part of the brethren was 
of any avail, and they were living in daily ex- 
pectation of a most furious attack of the people, 
when suddenly this man, weary of being dragged 
from place to place in such an employment, con- 
fessed that he had suffered himself to be bribed 
to calumniate the Picards, and that he knew 
nothing at all about them. At the same time, 
several sensible persons, wishing to ascertain the 
truth, had come unobserved to the meetings of 
the brethren, and discovering the falsehood of 
what had been reported of them, had even joined 
their communion ; so that here again the wicked 
were snared in their own net. 

Their enemies, finding that by this base fraud 
they had done the brethren more good than harm, 
endeavoured to lay a new trap, more concealed 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 



55 



than the former. Accordingly, two years after, 
they invited them, under the pretext of bringing 
about a reconciliation, to a public discussion in 
the college at Prague ; this, however, never took 
place. 

In the midst of these incessant persecutions, 
the brethren were induced, by the circumstances 
in which they were placed, to take a very inter- 
esting step. Finding themselves insulated, like 
the ark in the deluge, they determined to try if 
they could discover in any part of the world other 
christians, who had escaped the general ship- 
wreck ; or, like mariners cast on a desert island, 
they wished to explore the solitudes that sur- 
rounded them, in the hope that they might pos- 
sibly hear some voice that would answer to their 
own, and find in some part of Christendom other 
faithful disciples of Jesus, with whom they could 
unite. Another motive, also, which probably 
might have influenced them, was a sense of the 
continual persecutions to which they were ex- 
posed, and the desire of withdrawing from them, 
by emigration, if these scenes were renewed. 

By means of their connexions with the nobility 
of the country, among whom they had numerous 
friends, they procured letters of recommendation 
from the king, and in 1474 they sent out four 
deputies, in four different directions. The co- 
bishop Luke directed his course to Greece ; 
Kokonez, to Moscow, Scythia, and other Sclavo- 
nian countries ; Kabanitz,to Palestine and Egypt ; 
and Marchicus, to Constantinople and Thrace. 
They returned, after several years, with the mourn- 
ful intelligence, that they had indeed found 



56 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



every where nominal christians, but in a state of 
such dreadful degeneracy, that it seemed as if 
they had abandoned themselves to every species 
of vice. We shall have occasion to see pre- 
sently that, some years after this, the brethren 
made a fresh attempt of this kind, but apparently 
without any greater success ; although some of 
the leaders in the reformation had then begun to 
stand forward for the truth. 

Their persecutors however did not let them 
rest. After the death of Podiebrad, they applied 
to Matthias, king of Hungary, who had lately 
conquered, in addition to Bohemia, the whole of 
Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia, which comprehend 
in their extent a considerable number of the 
brethren's churches, and they attained their ob- 
ject, in 1481, so far as to banish from those 
countries all the brethren who were found there. 
Many of them fled, by way of Hungary and 
Transylvania, into Moldavia ; where they were 
joined, two years after, by one of the three elders 
who had been chosen at the synod of Lotha. The 
hospodar of this province received them very 
kindly ; but the persecution having ceased in 
Moravia, and the rude and superstitious manners 
of the inhabitants of Moldavia not being very 
pleasing to them, they returned at the end of 
ten years into their own country. 

Another company, of whom history has preserv- 
ed hardly any account, appear to have emigrated, 
or to have been carried off by the Tartars, as far 
as the Caspian sea, into the country about Cau- 
casus, where they were known by the name of 
Tscheskes, (a name given to the Bohemians in 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457—1517. 57 

their language,) and, in 1709, they had three large 
settlements in those parts. 

A war, which broke out in Moravia about this 
time, put a stop for a while to the persecutions of 
the brethren. " The poor miserable brethren, " 
says Regenvolscius, " are now left to them- 
selves." The brethren availed themselves of the 
intervals of peace, which they enjoyed at this pe- 
riod, to undertake a translation of the bible into 
the Bohemian language, which they got printed 
at Venice ; being the first people in Europe 
who printed a bible in the language of their 
own country. This edition of the scriptures met 
with so rapid a sale, that it was twice reprinted 
at Nuremburg ; and in order to act more inde- 
pendently, the brethren established three printing 
offices in Bohemia and in Moravia, which at first 
were wholly employed in printing Bohemian 
bibles. This translation remained in use among- 
them for a century, and at length became the 
basis of a new version revised after the originals. 

The short peace which the brethren enjoyed 
was soon however disturbed by fresh troubles, 
arising from one of those differences of opinion 
on minor points, which have in every age been 
found to exist among true christians. Some of 
them, from whom in later times the anabaptists 
of Moravia and Hungary descended, declared 
that a christian could not with a good conscience 
hold civil office, or bear arms; and as in the 
warmth of dispute they asserted, erroneously no 
doubt, that the other brethren would not consider 
it sinful to defend themselves by arms, their ene- 
mies took advantage of this unjust accusation, 



58 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



to persuade the king, during the edict, held in 
1503, that the brethren were a dangerous people, 
who wished to renew the disturbances of the 
ancient Taborites, and that he ought to extirpate 
them. Several of the states of the kingdom pro- 
tested against these insinuations, asserted the 
innocence of the brethren, and opposed the cruel 
measures which were advised against the best 
subjects of the realm. But no sooner had their 
principal protectors left the assembly, # than their 
enemies prevailed upon the king to sign the de- 
cree for their persecution. The brethren, how- 
ever, having presented a humble and energetic 
memorial, he again changed his mind, and wished 
to bring about an union between them and the 
Calixtines. With this view he ordered, in the 
year 1503, that the brethren should send some 
of their chief ministers to Prague, to hold a con- 
ference with the professors and with the Calix- 
tine consistory. Though fears were entertained 
that some plot was in agitation, the brethren 
thought it their duty both to obey the king's 
command, and likewise publicly to defend their 
just cause. Several ministers and elders, pos- 
sessed of good talents, and a firm resolution 
even to suffer martyrdom for Christ's sake, were 
found willing to undertake the commission, and 
having been commended to the prayers of all the 
congregations, set out for Prague. It appears 
from a truly apostolic letter, written by baron 
von Postupitz to one of these deputies, that they 
were not unacquainted with the dangers they 
might have to meet. He writes, " It is indeed 
implanted in our very nature to love life ; but 



TO THE REFORMATION , 1457—1517. 59 

you, dear brother, have been enlightened by God 
to know that your life is hid with Christ in God ; 
and if you would attain to that life you must 
die with Christ. You know in whom you have 
believed, and that he is able to keep that which 
you have committed unto him until that day. Be 
strong therefore in the Lord, and in the power 
of his might, that you may fight the good fight, 
and receive the crown of life. What the nature 
of this fight is, I need not tell you ; but yet it 
may be profitable to remind you of what you 
know already : therefore, my brother, stand fast 
in the Lord. We have, indeed, as far as human 
means will reach, taken such steps as prudence 
dictates, to secure your safety, and we shall not 
fail to do every thing for you in future. But in 
case the fury of the enemy should prevail, and it 
should please God to glorify the name of his Son 
by your death, prepare yourself to meet it, and 
say, The Lord has given us this mortal life ; the 
Lord take it again as it seemeth good unto him. 
Farewell, dear brother! Written on the day of 
St. Stephen the first martyr, Dec. 26, 1503." 

Again, however, the Lord interposed to save 
the brethren from their dangers. On the very 
day in which the conference was to have opened, 
the rector of the university of Prague, who was 
their most bitter enemy, died ; and as none of the 
rest dared to meet them in a public discussion, 
afraid of being confounded before the citizens, 
who were assembling in great multitudes, they 
put off the conference from day to day, and at 
last, under different pretexts, gave it up alto- 
gether. Scarcely had this danger passed over, 
than a new one. presented itself. Three years 



60 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 



after, their enemies endeavoured to terrify the 
king, by threatening him with a miscarriage of 
the queen in her approaching confinement, if he 
did not extirpate heresy from his states ; and 
Wladislas was prevailed on to sign a new decree 
of persecution against the brethren. It is said, 
however, that when he had done this, he retired 
to his chamber, kneeled down and prayed to God 
to forgive him, and to defeat all the sanguinary 
plots formed against these innocent men. His 
prayer was heard, the queen died in childbed, 
and the execution of the decree was stopped. 

The protection of God over the brethren was 
seen, at this time, in a more remarkable manner 
than at any former period of their history. At 
the diet, in 1508, their enemies made an attempt 
to force the king to make this same edict, which 
Providence had just brought to nought, a law 
of the empire ; several of the members how- 
ever opposed it, and it was not passed. At 
length, in the following diet in 1510, they so far 
prevailed, by means of intrigue, as to get the 
decree registered. Among those who were ac- 
tive on this occasion, the imperial chancellor, 
Kollo wrath, was the most conspicuous ; but the 
awful death of this man, and several other ene- 
mies of the gospel, again brought deliverance to 
the brethren. This bitter adversary of the work 
of God, on his return home, stopped at the house 
of baron de Koldiz, where he related one day at 
table, with great joy, what he said had been una- 
nimously resolved upon at the diet against the 
brethren. The baron, turning round to his ser- 
vant, who was a member of the brethren's church, 
said, " Well, Simon, what do .you say to this?- 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457 — 1517. 61 

The servant modestly replied, " Not all have 
agreed, my Lord." Upon which the chancellor, 
in great wrath, demanded of him to name, if he 
could, the traitors who dared to oppose the 
united states of the empire. Simon, lifting up 
his hand, boldly said, "There is One dwelling- 
above, and if He has not agreed to your counsel, 
it will come to nought." Upon this the chan- 
cellor, still more enraged, with a dreadful oath, 
striking his fist on the table, exclaimed, " You 
villain, you shall see it with your own eyes, or 
may I never reach my home in safety." On his 
way home he was seized with an inflammation in 
his legs, which carried him off in a few days. His 
colleague in persecution, Bosek, the archbishop 
of Hungary, likewise received a fatal injury in 
alighting from his carriage, and died very soon 
after. 

The sudden death of these powerful enemies 
of the gospel alarmed many ; and it even became 
a proverb among the people, that " if any man 
was weary of life, he had only to persecute the 
brethren." In consequence of this, the persecu- 
tion, though sanctioned by an imperial edict, was 
not general. In some places the churches were 
only obliged to conceal their teachers ; and in 
others a few faithful confessors of the truth suf- 
fered martyrdom. A nobleman in his own town, 
Bor, condemned six brethren from the town of 
Aujest to the flames. They went cheerfully to 
the place of execution, and declared, that they 
died in the faith of Jesus Christ, the only propi- 
tiation for the sins of the world, and the only hope 
of true believers. The judge, wishing to show 



62 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 

mercy to one of them called Nicholas, offered 
him a whole year to consider of his recantation. 
Nicholas, after a short pause, replied, that as after 
a year's respite he could as little think of denying 
the true faith as now, he would rather choose to 
die with his beloved brethren, than a year hence 
by himself ; and thus joyfully accompanied them 
to the stake. 

If we take a general view of the church of 
the united brethren, during these periods of 
alternate persecution and repose, we shall find, 
that by their means the doctrine of salvation 
made evident progress, and that notwithstanding 
all the martyrdoms and exiles which many of 
them endured, and the desertion of some weak 
souls through fear of suffering, their churches 
continually multiplied, so that at the beginning 
of the 16th century, (before Luther or Calvin 
came forth into public notice,) they reckoned in 
Bohemia and Moravia as many as two hundred 
societies of the brethren, fully and regularly 
constituted as protestant churches. 

At the same time, also, a great number of the 
Calixtines, literary men, priests, counts, barons, 
and gentlemen joined them ; and as the other 
Calixtines occupied all the churches, and drove 
away the brethren, these new converts built 
places of worship for them in their towns and 
villages. 

We must here recollect that the Calixtines 
were as bitter against the brethren as the Roman 
catholic party, or even more so ; for it often 
happens, that a cowardly temporiser is more cruel 
than a declared enemv; and a weak mind, when 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457 — 1517. 



63 



it would pretend to strength, shows itself mor 
depraved than any other. To preserve their 
trifling privilege of receiving the cup in the com- 
munion, they sacrificed every thing else. After 
the death of Rocky zan, who seemed to have im- 
printed his character on all the party, they al- 
most always had their priests consecrated in 
Italy, although they could not do it without 
dissembling their principles in a disgraceful 
manner, pretending to be Romish priests, and 
even giving up the treaty, called Compactata, 
formerly concluded with the court of Rome. It 
is true, that two Italian bishops, who had retired 
into Bohemia, for some time ordained their priests; 
and that, after their death, some of theCalixtines, 
who could not submit to such gross dissimula- 
tion, went as far as Armenia, to receive orders 
from the Greek church ; but in general they 
gradually crouched under the yoke of Rome, 
until, at the time when the protestants were 
driven out of Bohemia, they became entirely 
mixed with the Romish party, and returned com- 
pletely like " the dog to his vomit." 

We can easily conceive the reasons of their 
hatred to the brethren. The latter had separated 
from them, and by the purity of their doctrine 
and worship, as well as by the holiness of their 
lives, were a constant witness against them. Thus 
the distance between the two parties continually 
increased, and the brethren stood alone, as the 
defenders of the truth in Bohemia and Moravia. 
Nevertheless, at this period, many of the brethren 
expressed a wish that another attempt should be 
made on the Calixtines, who still numbered in 



64 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS, 

their ranks many real christians; and, with a view 
either to refute the imputation of bigotry cast 
upon them, or to put an end to the persecutions 
they endured, they were of opinion that they ought 
to yield to the repeated demands of the king, and 
unite with the Calixtines. They alleged that 
there were still to be found among them a num- 
ber of faithful teachers, whose doctrine and life 
were equally pure, and who were friendly to the 
brethren. They hoped by this union to obtain a 
more free access to these persons, and to be the 
means of leading forward in the knowledge of 
the gospel, a great number of sincere believers 
who only wanted better instruction. But the 
elder and more experienced leaders of the bre- 
thren, who recollected how the Calixtines had 
persecuted them on account of the truth, feared 
that a union of this kind would render their own 
people lukewarm, lead to neglect of discipline, 
and thus bring ruin upon their churches. They 
resolved, however, to make this important ques- 
tion the subject of deliberation at a synod to be 
held in 1486, some of the resolutions of which 
show the love of peace that prevailed among the 
brethren, and, at the same time, their aversion to 
those unions, or religious mixtures, which are 
produced only by an indifference to the truth. 

In conclusion, they stated, " That no society, 
how numerous soever it may be, can be called 
the catholic church, that is, the universal church, 
comprehending all believers, in such a sense that 
out of its pale God should have none of his elect. 
But, on the contrary, wherever the only catholic 
faith, agreeable to the truth of God, is found in 



TO THE REFORMATION, 1457— 1517. 



65 



any part of Christendom, there is a part of the 
holy catholic church out of which there is no 
hope of salvation/' 

Acting upon these principles, the brethren re- 
solved, at the same synod, to send a second time 
some of their body into different countries, to 
make inquiries after a people like themselves, 
having some presentiment that such were to be 
found. They deputed two brethren to make a 
last effort of this kind, both at Rome and in 
other parts of Italy, and in France, and espe- 
cially to search for the remnant of the Vaudois 
who were still concealed in different countries, 
and bring back exact information about them. 
These deputies however, like the former messen- 
gers, found only a few oppressed Vaudois, and 
some scattered believers, who sighed in secret 
for the reformation of the church, and they even 
witnessed with their own eyes the burning of se- 
veral worthy individuals for the gospel's sake. 

The brethren were then convinced that they 
could do nothing, but cry to God to have mercy 
upon the church in its fallen and degenerate 
state, and wait with patience till it should please 
him to deliver his people. In a synod, held in 
1489, they came to this remarkable resolution — 
That if God should raise up faithful teachers and 
reformers in any country, they would make com- 
mon cause with them. This indeed was hoping 
against hope ; for although Luther and other re- 
formers, who were destined to appear a few years 
after, were born at that time, yet no one as yet 
even thought of a reformation, nor did there 
appear any reasonable ground for such a hope. 
g2 



66 FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE MORAVIANS* 

The great Head of the church was, however, si- 
lently preparing his work ; and in the midst of 
the complaints and fears, and perhaps even un- 
believing murmurs, which arose in the hearts of 
some of his own people, their deliverance was 
approaching. 

The first dawning of the reformation was in- 
deed appearing, although it was impossible to 
foresee the result. About this time Erasmus 
arose, and made some attempts to improve the 
sciences and theology of the schools. The bre- 
thren, who were doubtless on many occasions too 
anxious for the approbation of men, or rather 
in this case not knowing what to do, hastened, in 
1511, to send to this learned but time-serving 
man, by the hands of two of their number, the 
apology which they had presented to king 
Wladislas in 1508. They intreated him to ex- 
amine it and point out their errors, if he should 
discover any ; but if, on the other hand, he per- 
ceived nothing erroneous, to give his testimony 
to the purity of their doctrine and the upright- 
ness of their conduct, that it might serve for a 
defence against the false charges to which they 
were exposed. Erasmus, however, had not cou- 
rage and faithfulness enough to risk his worldly 
honour and reputation, for the sake of the de- 
spised brethren. He replied, that he had dis- 
covered no error in their apology, but he did not 
think it expedient for him to give them his tes- 
timony, nor did they need it ; and he advised 
them to continue, as they had hitherto done, 
to live according to the constitution of their 
church, but without making any stir. 



TO THE REFORMATION , 1457—1517. 67 



Notwithstanding* this refusal, and the advice 
he gave them to hide their light under a bushel, 
Erasmus, upon more than one occasion after- 
wards, when he could do it without any risk to 
himself, gave a high-testimony to their sentiments 
and conduct. We may mention, among other 
things, what he says of them in his preface to the 
New Testament, and his answer to Schlecta, who 
had spread various calumnies about them. The 
following passage particularly deserves attention. 

" If the brethren elect pastors from among 
themselves, it is nothing more than what the 
primitive christians did : if they make choice of 
unlettered and uneducated men, they may well 
be excused ; since the want of learning is suffi- 
ciently compensated by the holiness of their 
lives : if they call one another, brother and sister, 
I see no harm in it ; would to God that this ap- 
pellation, dictated by brotherly love, existed uni- 
versally among christians : if they place less 
confidence in their preachers than in the holy 
scriptures ; that is, if they put more confidence 
in God than in man, they are right. As to holy 
days, I find their sentiments little different from 
those which prevailed in the times of St. Jerome ; 
but festivals have now increased to an enormous 
number,'' &c. 

Such was the testimony of Erasmus respecting 
them ; but now the veil was removing-, and the 
brethren were about to see themselves surrounded 
by a cloud of witnesses to the truth. 



CHAPTER IV. 



from the reformation, to the period of the 
brethren's dispersion through Prussia 
and poland, 1517 — 1570. 

A century had elapsed since the martyrdom 
of John Huss, and his last remarkable words 
spoken to his judges and tormentors were still 
remembered. " A hundred years hence," said 
he, ' ' and you shall answer for this before God 
and me." The moment had now arrived ; all 
Christendom was impatiently demanding a general 
reform of doctrine and manners in the church. 
That heroic servant of God, Martin Luther, was 
raised up, and in 1517 began, after the example 
of Huss, publicly to preach against the errors of 
the Romish church, and the scandalous sale of 
indulgences. When we consider the isolated 
state of the brethren in the midst of Christendom, 
and recollect the disappointment which had at- 
tended the two deputations they had sent, to in- 
quire after any who might be of the same mind 
with themselves, we may form some idea of the 
joy they would feel at the first report of this great 
reformation. As soon as they heard of Luther's 
bold testimony to the truth, and the blessing 
that was attending his labours, they sent, in the 
year 1522, two brethren, to assure him of the 
deep and friendly interest they took in his work, 



HISTORY FROM 1517 — 1570- 



69 



and their fervent prayers for his success, giving 
him at the same time an account of their doctrine 
and constitution. Luther received them in the 
kindest manner, and afterwards, in his letters, 
declared, that although he had formerly enter- 
tained strong prejudices against the brethren, he 
had been much strengthened and animated by 
their conversation. In the year following, the 
brethren wrote to him, urging the necessity of 
combining christian order and discipline with 
that soundness of doctrine he had introduced ; to 
which, among other things, he thus replied : " We 
have not yet arrived at that state, in which we 
are able to establish amongst us those regulations 
for the instruction of youth, and the maintenance 
of holy conduct, which, we are informed, exist 
among you ; with us, things are in an immature 
state, and proceed slowly; but pray for us." 
The brethren judged from this, that Luther and 
his assistants were earnestly intent upon this great 
work; and, in 1524, inquired again by letter, 
how far he had advanced in the introduction of 
christian discipline into the church. When they 
found that, as yet, no steps had been taken, 
they observed to him, that this neglect operated 
against the brethren's church ; for many of their 
own congregation, wmo were not yet sufficiently 
grounded in the faith, were preparing to quit 
their communion, as they could hear the gospel 
elsewhere without submitting to so strict a dis- 
cipline. Luther, who was at that time fully oc- 
cupied in the propagation and dehnce of the 
gospel, was rather offended at this rebuke, and 
their mutual friendship seemed to suffer some 



70 



FROM THE REFORMATION", TO THE 



interruption. He even went so far as to declare, 
that he disapproved of some of their regula- 
tions. But when, in 1532, they sent him the con- 
fession of faith they had delivered to George, the 
margrave of Brandenburg, he caused it to be 
printed at Wittenburg, with a preface by himself, 
in which he says — 

"While I was a papist, my zeal for religion 
made me cordially hate the brethren, and conse- 
quently, likewise, the writings of Huss. I could 
not, however, deny that he taught the doctrines 
of holy writ purely and forcibly, so much so, that 
I was astonished that the pope and council of 
Constance had condemned this great and worthy 
man to the flames. Yet such was my blind zeal 
for the pope and the council, that I instantly 
put the book out of my hand and felt terrified 
at myself. But since God hath discovered to me 
the ' son of perdition,' I think otherwise, and am 
constrained to honor those as saints and martyrs, 
whom the pope condemned and murdered as he- 
retics ; for they have died for the truth of their 
testimony. In this number I reckon the brethren, 
commonly called Picards; for among them I have 
found what I deem a great wonder, and what is 
not to be met with in the whole extent of the 
popedom ; namely, that setting aside all human 
traditions, they exercise themselves day and night 
in the law of the Lord; and though they are not 
so great proficients in Hebrew and Greek as some 
others, yet they are well skilled in the holy scrip- 
tures, have made experience of its doctrines, and 
teach them with clearness and accuracy. I 
therefore hope all true christians will love and 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 71 

esteem them. Yea, we are bound to give hearty 
thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who, according to the riches of his glory 
hath commanded the light of his word to shine 
out of darkness, that he might raise us from 
spiritual death to a life of grace. We sincerely 
rejoice, both for their sakes and ours, that the sus- 
picion which heretofore alienated us has been re- 
moved, and that we are now gathered into one 
fold, under the only Shepherd and Bishop of our 
souls, to whom be glory to all eternity. Amen." 

We might mention here some other testimonies 
of Luther's fellow-labourers, to the soundness of 
doctrine and good order maintained among the 
brethren ; we shall, however, content ourselves 
with quoting the words of Melancthon, in a letter 
written to them in 1535. " Since," says he, " we 
are agreed on the principal points of the christian 
faith, let us bear with one another in love, with 
regard to every thing else. No difference in 
rites and ceremonies ought to break our union. 
St. Paul often speaks of ceremonies, but he for- 
bids christians to separate one from another on 
account of their differences, though in the world 
these are a source of violent contentions. The 
strict discipline observable in your churches does 
not offend me ; would to God that he would give 
us more zeal to exercise it in ours. As it respects 
my hearty good will to you, I wish from my very 
heart that all who love the gospel, and desire 
the name of Jesus Christ to be exalted, and the 
knowledge of it to be spread more extensively, 
would unite together, and mutually forbear with 
one another in christian love." 



72 



FROM THE REFORMATION 7 , TO THE 



From that period Luther remained in unin- 
terrupted friendship with the brethren, though 
they did not omit from time to time, both by 
letters and deputations, to urge and encourage 
him to introduce a regular system of church 
discipline. He received their admonitions in 
love, and promised to give the most serious at- 
tention to this point, as soon as the troubles in 
the church should cease. He made a similar 
declaration to the deputies of the brethren in 
1542, when he gave them, in the presence of the 
other professors of the university, the right hand 
of fellowship, and said, u Be diligent in promot- 
ing the work of Christ among your countrymen ; 
we will do the same according to our ability 
among the Germans." Soon after which he 
wrote a letter to their principal senior or bishop, 
John Augusta, in which he says, " I exhort you 
in the Lord, that as you have begun, so you will 
maintain to the end, the unity of the spirit with 
us, and abide in the same doctrine; and, together 
with us, by the word of God and prayer, fight 
against the gates of hell. " We may add, also, 
the following testimony of this reformer to the 
excellences of their ecclesiastical discipline : 
" Since the times of the apostles no christians 
have appeared who have maintained a doctrine 
aad practice more conformable to apostolic 
teaching, than the United Brethren. Though 
they do not surpass us in purity of doctrine, 
since we teach every article by the word of God 
alone, yet they far exceed us in the discipline, 
by which they blessedly govern their churches ; 
in this we must confess, to the glory of God, and 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570* 73 

of the truth, they are more commendable than 
ourselves. 

The most celebrated of Luther's colleagues 
were of the same opinion with himself in this 
matter. Thus Bucer writes, in 1540: — l< It is 
my most fervent wish that you may not lose that 
particular gift you have received from God, but 
rather by your example excite us also to obtain 
the same : for I believe that you alone, in the 
present age, unite sound doctrine with pure, true, 
and salutary discipline. We pray the Lord, that 
he may preserve this peculiar appearance of his 
kingdom among us, and cause it to increase from 
day to day/' 

Fabricius Capito, also, writing the same year 
to the brethren, says, " The book containing 
your confession cf faith and statement of disci- 
pline, was very acceptable to us. Of all that has 
appeared in our time, I have not seen any thing 
more complete. This book not only contains an 
entire confession of faith, and a true description 
of the institutions of Christ, but it likewise pre- 
sents to our view a discipline altogether pure, 
and points out the most effectual means of edify- 
ing believing souls." Calvin, and other minis- 
ters of the reformation, bore their testimony to 
the same effect. 

While the brethren were thus enjoying the 
friendship and communion of the reformers, their 
enemies raised another persecution against them. 
In the war of Smalcald, which broke out soon 
after the death of Luther, in 1.546, France and 
Spain united, on one side, to crush the protestants 
of France, beginning with the Vaudois ; while 

H 



74 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 

Charles v. emperor of Germany, and Ferdinand 
king of Bohemia, took up arms against the pro- 
testants of their states. The Bohemian nation 
refusing to fight against the elector of Saxony, 
who was considered as the protector of the re- 
formed religion ; this refusal was imputed to the 
influence of the brethren, who were accused of 
having concerted a plan, in their correspondence 
with Luther, for placing the elector of Saxony on 
the throne of Bohemia. In consequence of this, 
Ferdinand resolved to punish them, and began by 
banishing several of their principal people, con- 
fiscating the estates of some, and imprisoning 
others. In order to extort a confession of these 
pretended plots, some of them were subjected to 
various tortures. Among these was John Augusta, 
their chief elder, who was thrice put to the rack, 
frequently scourged, and reduced to an allowance 
of bread and water scarcely sufficient to support 
life ; and although nothing could be proved 
against him, he was kept in prison until the death 
of Ferdinand, a period of sixteen years. The 
christian firmness, and fervent prayers of this ex- 
cellent man, had a happy effect upon his tormen- 
tors, and were the means of converting some of 
them to the truth. Another of their elders, 
George Israel, soon after experienced similar 
treatment, and showed the same devoted zeal. A 
thousand florins were demanded as the price of 
his release, and as he was not possessed of that 
sum, his friends and the congregation offered to 
raise it for him ; but he refused, saying, " It is 
enough for me that I have been once' for all com- 
pletely redeemed, and by the blood of my Sa- 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 75 

viour, Jesus Christ. I have no need to be ran- 
somed a second time with silver or gold : keep 
your money, it will be useful to you in your ap- 
proaching exile." We shall presently have oc- 
casion to relate his happy escape from prison, 
not long- afterwards. 

The churches of the brethren were now shut up, 
and their ministers persecuted. Some of them fled 
to Moravia, where they still enjoyed rest; others 
hid themselves in the day-time, but crept out of 
their holes and hiding-places at night, to go about 
and comfort their suffering brethren. The com- 
mon people were commanded either to join in the 
worship of the Romish or Calixtine church, or to 
quit the country in six weeks. Some grew faint- 
hearted and went over to the Caiixtines ; but the 
greater part of them emigrated to Poland, in the 
year 1548, led by their worthy bishop, Matthew 
Syon, where they were at first kindly received by 
some of the nobility. But the popish bishop of 
Posen did not rest until he had obtained a royal 
mandate, by which, after a short abode of ten 
weeks, they were banished from that country. 

They then retired into Prussia, where they 
were hospitably treated by duke Albert. There 
also an attempt was made to render them sus- 
pected, and they were accused of holding doc- 
trines opposed to those of the Lutherans, which, 
from the intolerant spirit of the times, might have 
caused their banishment. The duke, however, 
having appointed five divines of Koenigsberg, to 
confer with the brethren on this subject, and find- 
ing that their doctrines agreed with the Augsburg 
confession, the government granted them all the 



76 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 



privileges of citizens, and assigned to them seven 
townships for their settlements. All the faithful 
ministers of the gospel in that country, especially 
the celebrated bishop, Paul Speratus, were very 
favourable to the brethren. 

Though the brethren had been so short a time 
in Poland, their testimony was not without ef- 
fect; and the seed of the gospel, which they had 
sown, soon began to spring up. Many of the no- 
bles and citizens received it with joy; and one of 
the principal pastors among the brethren, settled 
in Prussia, often went privately to visit and con- 
firm these new converts. We may mention, 
among other remarkable conversions which took 
place at this time, that of count d'Ostrorog. This 
nobleman, having entered their assembly with a 
horsewhip to drive his lady out, was overcome 
by conviction of the truth. After his conver- 
sion, he manifested an ardent zeal for the gospel. 
He requested the brethren to procure him a mi- 
nister for his estates ; and, in 1551, they sent him 
George Israel, who has been already mentioned. 
This venerable man, who refused to be released 
from his imprisonment for money, had, by God's 
mercy, obtained his liberty without ransom. He 
ventured, in dependance upon the Divine protec- 
tion, to walk out of the place of his confinement 
in the castle of Prague, through the midst of the 
guards, in the habit of a clerk, with a pen behind 
his ear, carrying an ink-horn and some paper, in 
broad day, and got safe to his brethren in Prussia. 
He then went to Poland, in answer to the call we 
have just mentioned, and in the space of six years 
above twenty congregations of the brethren were 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 77 

established in that country by his ministry. Other 
faithful ministers also laboured with success in 
this good work, so that, according to Vergerius, 
the total number of churches formed by the 
brethren in Great Poland, during this period, 
amounted to nearly forty. 

The brethren met with similar success in Li- 
thuania, Silesia, and other neighbouring coun- 
tries, where several of their elders were called to 
supply the places of the most eminent preachers, 
and to discharge the most important offices in 
the instruction of the people. 

Among those who were added to the brethren 
at this time, one of the most eminent for piety 
and usefulness was Paul Vergerius, of whom we 
have just spoken. He had once been the pope's 
legate, and bishop of Capo d'Istria ; but, some 
years before, had become a professor of evangeli- 
cal truth. After his conversion he caused the 
brethren's confession of faith to be printed at 
Tubingen, with a preface, in which he writes thus : 

" I ought first to mention the reasons which 
have induced me to republish this confession of 
faith of the Vaudois, or Picards, to this time but 
little known. Not long since, the Lord called 
me to travel from Germany into Prussia, Lithu- 
ania, and Poland. I felt an ardent desire to see 
these different nations and their churches. After 
travelling a long time in Poland, I discovered 
there about forty churches, regulated accord- 
ing to the constitution of the Vaudois.* This 

* The reader will recollect, that in every age the Vaudois 
have been confounded with the United Brethren, even at 
the time when they were most distinct from them, 
H 2 



78 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 




discovery s:ave me the most lively joy and satis- 
faction. The word of God was found amongst 
them in its unadulterated purity, and in such 
perfection, that I could perceive no shade of 
error, either in their doctrine or their ministers, 
or any thing to excite the least suspicion. Their 
rites of worship and manners are so pure, and 
so far distant from superstition and popish 
mummery, that no one can perceive the least 
trace of either amongthem. Their discipline is so 
strict, that it produces those fruits in the heart and 
life which mark the character of the real christian. 

" When I communicated these matters to 
the brethren in Italy and other places, and 
when I gave the same account to several princes 
of Germany, I observed that some of them did 
not even know that these Vaudois existed ; 
others, misunderstanding their character, were 
astonished that the Poles ever thought of re- 
ceiving their doctrine, and were fearful lest the 
purity of the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, as 
they had received it by the reformation, should 
thus be corrupted. For these important rea- 
sons I felt myself obliged to publish a new 
edition of this confession of faith, copies of 
which have now become exceedingly scarce. I 
have no doubt that all who love sound doc- 
trine, will commend and esteem not only this 
confession, but also the Poles, and all the 
churches that have adopted it ; and I am per- 
suaded, that they will pray our heavenly Father 
to carry on the work he has so happily begun 
by the reformation of these churches, and en- 
treat him, of his infinite loving kindness, to in- 
3 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517 — 1570. 79 

crease it more and more, and to bless it abund- 
antly every day." 

As this celebrated man was himself a mem- 
ber of the church whose history we are relating, 
and as his conversion was one of the memorable 
triumphs of that church, and of protestantism in 
general, an extract from a letter written to the 
brethren on the 19th of March, 1561, will not be 
unacceptable. " After being moved by the Spirit 
of God, to separate from an adulterous and 
antichristian church, (which by the grace of God 
I was enabled to do ten years ago,) I am now 
influenced by the same Spirit to seek for that 
which appears to me to be the best church, and 
in it to die, and render up my soul to my hea- 
venly Father. I not only ought to do this on 
my own account, but, unworthy as 1 am, for the 
sake of setting an example to others. By for- 
saking popery, I proved that from my heart I 
abominated its doctrines. I now desire to bear 
witness, that, although the doctrine of the pro- 
testant church, to which I now belong, does not 
displease me, I still give the preference to that 
church in which the purest discipline exists. I 
esteem and commend our churches, but I wish 
to find in them the other part of the gospel, that 
is, evangelical discipline ; and I openly declare, 
that on this account I prefer your churches to 
all others. That no person may imagine that I 
am now first beginning to think of these things, 
I declare before God, that since I have known 
and felt the power of the gospel, I have always 
approved of these churches, and have on all oc- 
casions defended them with all my might, as 
many persons can testify. Among other proofs 



80 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 

of this, I may mention that I appeased the anger 
of Maximilian ii. king of Bohemia, who was very 
much exasperated against the brethren. I con- 
clude with expressing my earnest desire to live 
and die among you, if your churches will receive 
me. I seek not great things among you, for I 
have voluntarily forsaken the pleasures of the 
world ; the hand of the Lord has apprehended 
me, and henceforth I speak and think of very 
different things." Thus, by the blessing of the 
Lord, was the presence and influence of the exiles 
of Bohemia rendered useful to Poland. 

As the brethren's churches thus extended in 
the midst of the other protestant communions, it 
soon became an object of mutual desire to effect 
a union, or at least a brotherly connexion be- 
tween the three communions, the Lutheran, the 
Reformed, and the Bohemian. Besides the ge- 
neral motive of christian love, there were others 
very w T eighty which urged them to this : the suc- 
cess of the reformed faith in Poland seemed 
likely to depend upon this union ; and the way 
had been prepared for it by previous events. So 
long before as the year 1440, some Hussites of 
Bohemia, who had taken refuge in Poland, and 
long afterwards several Polish students, who had 
been instructed by Melancthon, had sown the 
first seeds of the reformation in these countries. 
Subsequently, the brethren, driven out of Bohe- 
mia, in 1548, fled thither, and though their stay 
was so short, contributed greatly, as we have 
seen, to the success of the work. At the same 
time also that the Lutherans spread into Polish 
Prussia and the Reformed into Poland, almost 
all the nobility had embraced the protestant 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 81 

faith ; the king himself was strongly inclined to 
a general reformation, and was only diverted 
from it by the divisions among the orthodox pro- 
testants, and the troubles caused by the Arians. 

In this manner all the protestants were desir- 
ous of union : and Felix Cruciger, the super- 
intendent* of the reformed in Little Poland, 
had two interviews with George Israel, the chief 
elder of the brethren, for the purpose of devising 
means to bring their divisions to an end. With 
this view the reformed met in a general synod, 
in 1555, at Kaminieck, and there, in the presence 
of several of the waywodes of Great and Little 
Poland, and a deputation from the king of 
Prussia, examined the confession of faith, the 
form of discipline, and other writings of the bre- 
thren ; and, after examination, gave them their 
entire approbation. The two churches then 
united in the persons of their representatives, 
who gave one another the right hand of fellow- 
ship, and partook of the Lord's supper together. 

Information of these circumstances was trans- 
mitted by the reformed to their brethren in Swit- 
zerland, who rejoiced in the union, chiefly on ac- 
count of the discipline which w&s now likely to 
be introduced. Calvin, among others, wrote 
in the following terms : 4i I expect the greatest 
good from your union with the Vaudois, not only 
because God has always blessed the union of 
the members of Christ, but also because I am 

* Throughout almost the whole of Germany, the reformed, 
as well as the Lutherans, had superintendents ; who, in some 
respects, had the same authority as the bishops among the 
Roman catholics. 



82 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 



persuaded, that in the work which you have be- 
gun, you may derive great advantage from the ex- 
perience which the Vaudois brethren have acquir- 
ed, in the long trials through which the Lord has 
led them. On this account you should labour 
diligently, that this holy union may be more 
closely cemented." To the same purpose speaks 
that celebrated divine of Berne, Musculus Wolf- 
gang, in a letter to the same churches : " Above 
all we praise the wonderful counsels of God, 
that the brethren, called Vaudois, driven out of 
Bohemia some years since, should be led to 
settle amongst you, to assist your churches in 
the knowledge and propagation of the truth." 

This union, which was considered complete 
and lasting, was however disturbed by enemies 
of various descriptions. Some concealed Arians, 
who had wished to be included in it, for the pur- 
pose of partaking of the protection which it 
assured to both parties, and perhaps also for the 
sake of more easily spreading their errors, began 
to require the brethren to adopt various changes 
in their doctrine and forms of worship ; and on 
their refusal, endeavoured to render them sus- 
pected by the Swiss divines. Even the aged and 
venerable John a Lasco, for some time, opposed 
the maintenance of the union. He required, in 
conjunction with Calvin and other reformed mi- 
nisters, that the brethren should conform more to 
the doctrine of the Swiss and French churches 
on the subject of the Lord's sapper ; that they 
should give a more explicit declaration of their 
sentiments, and alter some of their practices re- 
lating to this ordinance. The king ordered Lasco 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 83 



not to insist upon these things, and the brethren 
endeavoured to satisfy the Swiss doctors by a 
deputation ; but the difference still remained 
unsettled, and they were obliged to seek a more 
effectual remedy. 

During the mild and peaceful reign of Maxi- 
milian ii. the brethren enjoyed some repose, both 
I in Bohemia and Moravia ; and, making their 
native soil once more the centre of their exer- 
I tions and the seat of their church government, 
• they held a synod at Sleza, in Moravia, in 1557, 
which was attended by more than two hundred 
of their ministers, with a great number of Polish 
noblemen. One of the principal objects of this 
meeting, was to consider the proposed union of 
the brethren with the reformed of Poland and 
Switzerland. But the matter became more and 
more difficult to be accomplished ; the protestant 
church was at that time divided into a number of 
parties, keenly opposed to each other, and all en- 
deavouring to draw the brethren to their side. 
Each party regarded those who did not think en- 
tirely with them as against them ; and this state 
of things operated, together with these circum- 
stances before mentioned, to prevent the synods 
effecting the desired union. Several subsequent 
synods were occupied with the same business, 
until, in 1560, the brethren convoked a new one 
at Bunzlau,* in Bohemia, which had then be- 
come their principal settlement. At this meet- 
ing they resolved, for the purpose of putting a 
stop to the misrepresentations of their senti- 
ments, which still prevailed, to send two of their 
* Hence they are often called the Brethren of Bunzlau. 



84 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 

number, Rockita and Herbert, as a deputation, to 
some of the princes and chief divines of Germany 
and Switzerland. These deputies were received 
every where with great kindness, especially by 
the duke of Wurtemberg and the count pala- 
tine of Deux-Ponts. The duke went so far as 
to offer them an asylum in his territories, and 
gave them letters of recommendation to some 
Polish noblemen. The chancellor Vergerius, be- 
fore mentioned, showed himself on this occasion 
one of their warmest friends. 

Furnished with letters from the duke of Wur- 
temberg, Rockita immediately w ent into Poland ; 
but Herbert continued his route to Heidelberg, 
Strasburg, and Switzerland, and had interviews 
with some of the divines of those places.* He 
expressed to them his regret, in the name of the 
brethren, that they had been unjustly and cru- 
elly censured ; he declared that, with respect to 
the Lord's supper, they were determined to take 
no part in the disputes upon that subject, add- 
ing, that they were neither willing nor able to 
give any other explanations than what were 
already given in the very w T ords of scripture. 
The two deputies were well received also by the 
divines they visited. 

The subject of the union between the brethren 
and the reformed was again resumed ; and, in 
1560, at the synod of Xyans, it was brought to 
an issue. They first came to an understanding 
on the subject of doctrine. On that of disci- 
pline, some of the reformed thought that they 

* Particularly with Bullinger, Peter Martyr, Musculus, 
Calvin, Viret, and Theodore Beza. 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 85 

could derive from the scriptures a better form 
than that of the brethren, whom they reproached 
with savouring- a little of popery, and giving too 
much power to the clergy. The brethren re- 
plied, that their discipline had been the fruit of 
much attention and study during forty years, in 
the midst of prayers and continual sufferings ; 
that it had prospered during a century, and had 
received the approbation of the most enlightened 
teachers of the reformation, principally because 
it insisted upon a real conversion of the heart, 
and admitted none to the fellowship of the saints 
and the Lord's supper, without the strictest ex- 
amination into their christian character. The 
reformed yielded to these observations, and the 
synod resolved, by a plurality of voices, without 
altering the confessions of the two churches as 
to doctrine, to adopt the discipline of the bre- 
thren ; with a slight modification, that the bishop 
should be joined by a lay elder in the superin- 
tendence of every district or diocese, of which 
there were seven in Little Poland, and six in 
Lithuania. The bishops of the brethren in Po- 
land were designated by the title of ancients or 
elders, in order to avoid the constructions which 
the roman catholics and the presbyterian protest- 
ants might put upon the word bishop ; this they 
no longer used, except in their negociations with 
the protestant episcopal churches. Such is the 
history of the union of the brethren in Poland 
with the reformed in that country. 

Their negociations, however, with the Luther- 
ans, met with a very different result. The 
brethren had already experienced some trouble, 



86 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 



especially in Prussia, from several captious and 
intolerant doctors of that church, and things at 
last came to such a pass, after the death of duke 
Albert, that not only a new form of doctrine 
was drawn up, which the brethren were required 
to subscribe, but an attempt was made to oblige 
them to give up their own Bohemian preachers, 
their discipline, and particular customs, and thus 
to renounce every bond of union with their bre- 
thren in Bohemia and Moravia, or else to quit 
the country. Most of them resolved on the latter 
alternative, and retired in 1574, some into Great 
Poland, others into Moravia, their native coun- 
try, where the brethren, as before stated, en- 
joyed for a time complete toleration. 

As to the Lutherans of Poland, . although less 
intolerant than those of Prussia, they were not 
at first at all disposed to agree to the union 
between the brethren and the reformed. Erasmus 
Gliczner, their superintendent, invited George 
Israel, the chief bishop of the brethren, to attend 
and discuss the matter in a synod assembled at 
Posen, in 1567. In this assembly, various ob- 
jections were made against the brethren's con- 
fession of faith, and as mutual agreement could 
not be effected, the subject was submitted, the 
year following, to the judgment of the theolo- 
gical faculty at Wurtemberg. They decided, 
after Luther's example, " that, notwithstanding 
their difference in some expressions and cere- 
monies, the church of the brethren in Bohemia 
ought not to be reckoned different from that of 
the Lutherans;'' adding only an admonition to 
the brethren to this effect, " that however ex- 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 87 

cellent and worthy of imitation their discipline 
was, they ought not to think that the true church 
was only to be found among them, or to hinder 
the members of other evangelical communions 
from having fellowship with them." 

Gliczner having given up some of his former 
prejudices, invited the brethren to a fresh synod, 
which was convened atPosen, in 1570, in which 
both parties acknowledged the harmony between 
the brethren's confession of faith and that of 
Augsburg. In another, held at Wilna, in Li- 
thuania, they succeeded in putting an end to the 
disputes between the Lutherans and the reformed, 
on the subject of the Lord's supper ; and this 
was followed by the celebrated synod which ac- 
complished the union of all the protestants in 
Poland. It was held at Sendomir, in the month 
of April, the same year, and was a most nume- 
rous and imposing assembly. Besides the mi- 
nisters sent as deputies from all the churches of 
the three confessions, several attended on the 
part of the nobility, one of whom presided on 
the occasion. The principal divines were, on 
the side of the brethren, the bishop Laurentius ; 
for the Lutherans, Gliczner ; and Paul Gilovius 
for the reformed. 

At first, the chief endeavour of each party 
was not so much merely to effect a union, as to 
draw over the others to their side. Soon, how- 
ever, they perceived, that harmony might very 
well subsist among them, while each retained its 
own confession, and indeed that the union could 
take place upon no other principle. They there- 
fore came to the following resolution -.-—That, as 



88 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 



their confessions agreed in all essential points cf 
doctrine, they would consider each other as of the 
same household of faith ; love as brethren ; and 
render to each other mutual services, though they 
might differ in outward forms. 

They further added, that the members of one 
communion should not only have fellowship with 
the rest in the preaching of the word, but also 
at the Lord's supper; and that, in token of their 
union, each of the three churches should send a 
certain number of deputies to the general synods, 
which might be held by their brethren of another 
profession, at any time or place appointed. 

The articles of this union, which received the 
name of the Consensus, having been reduced to 
writing, and read in a full assembly, all the mem- 
bers of the synod promised faithfully to observe 
them, for the promotion of general edification in 
the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The sitting was 
closed with prayer and thanksgiving, and every 
heart overflowed with joy. Historians say, also, 
that a great number of secret Arians, who had 
been hitherto endeavouring to spread their errors 
and excite disturbance, returned to the truth, 
and were received into the communion of the 
faithful ; the others were openly excluded. Be- 
fore they separated, they nominated deputies to 
carry the articles of the union to the Heidelberg 
divines, and confer with them, whether it was 
advisable to compile a separate form of doctrine 
for Poland, besides the general confession of the 
three churches, The answer of the university 
was, that they should keep simply to the Con- 
sensus on which they had just agreed. In 1578, 



DISPERSION OF THE MORAVIANS, 1517—1570. 89 

the Lutheran nobility also wrote, in concert with 
the divines of their church, to the electors of the 
palatinates of Saxony and Brandenberg, to com- 
municate to them the result of the synod ; they 
testified their satisfaction, expressing a desire 
that all the protestants would follow their ex- 
ample. 

Some weeks after this great synod, another 
was held at Posen, of the Lutherans and the 
brethren, in which some details were settled on 
the foundation of the Consensus of Sendomir. 
The agreement was then publicly read to all the 
people, who shed tears of joy, when, during the 
chanting of the Te Deum, they saw all the mem- 
bers of the synod stretch out their hands in token 
of brotherly love. At the end of the meeting, 
one of the brethren's preachers delivered a dis- 
course with all the Lutheran forms, in the Lu- 
theran church ; and one of the latter confession 
officiated in a church of the United Brethren. 

For several years after this, general synods 
were held, composed of the members of the three 
confessions, in which all the preceding resolu- 
tions were confirmed, and some new arrange- 
ments made for the maintenance of good order, 
the establishment of general schools, and other 
similar objects. These points were all digested 
and passed under the name of the Constitutions ; 
and from that time the protestants of Poland 
remained united for a long period, and continued 
to enjoy all the advantages that could be ex- 
pected from this union. Their enemies lost by 
it every opportunity of blackening them to the 
king, or of refusing to them, in the diets of the 
i 2 



90 FROM THE REFORMATION, TO THE 




kingdom, the privileges of the general peace, 
and were unable to separate from their commu- 
nion the nobles of the country. Their peace, it is 
true, was again disturbed at the synod of Posen, in 
1582, where two Lutheran preachers, Gerike 
and Enoch, the latter of whom, as Salig says, 
had left the brethren in order to free himself 
from their strict discipline, protested against the 
Consensus of Sendomir, and went so far as even 
to menace their superintendent Giiczner with 
excommunication, alleging the authority of some 
Lutheran faculties of theology, which had in fact 
censured this decision. The matter was, however, 
carried to the general synod of Thorn, in 1595, 
at which were assembled a number of deputies, 
clergy, and laity, and even one of the Russian 
princes, who belonged to the Greek church. 
All decided in favour of the Consensus ; and, as 
Gerike would not yield, he was deposed by the 
synod, and Giiczner succeeded in keeping the 
Lutheran churches in the general union. 

Such is the substance of the tedious affair of 
the Polish Consensus. In the sequel, we per- 
ceive an additional proof that the brethren of 
the Bohemian church inclined more towards the 
reformed than to the Lutherans ; for the latter 
separated themselves again from the other two 
confessions, and they did not unite together until 
a hundred years after, in the year 1712; but it 
was then too late, and they had already seen the 
evil resulting from separation. The reformed, on 
the contrary, continued to unite more and more 
closely with the Bohemian brethren, until at the 
synod of Ostrog, in 1627, they became so mixed 



DISPERSION OF TIJ£ MORAVIANS, 1517 — 1570- 91 

with them, that, from that time, there has existed 
in Great Poland no difference between the two 
: communions. We may observe here, that the 
brethren, in entering into this connexion, forgot 
the resolution of their predecessors, never to be 
too closely connected with those who could give 
no sufficient security for the maintenance of evan- 
gelical doctrine and discipline, (chap, iii.) and 
thus, instead of gaining over the reformed, the 
brethren's church, or at least the Polish part of it, 
as Commenius remarks, by uniting with the re- 
formed, lost its own existence, and gave up its 
peculiar form, its independent discipline, and the 
spirit of its ancestors. The great lesson which 
we should then draw from these events is this : — 
That the christian can only exert a salutary in- 
fluence upon the world, in proportion as he sepa- 
rates himself from it ; and that he will always be 
deceived, if he adopts an opposite course. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRETHREN OF BOHEMIA 
AND MORAVIA, FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 
1548, TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THEIR CHURCHES, 
1627. 

It is pleasant to return again to those of the 
brethren who remained in Bohemia, that country 
rendered sacred to every friend of the gospel ; 
the Goshen of the middle ages, where the true 
church of Christ so eminently flourished ; for 
we cannot conceal from ourselves that, in all 
the transactions we have just detailed, we per- 
ceive the brethren of Poland and Prussia inclin- 
ing in some particulars towards secular prospe- 
rity. Their churches seemed evidently to be 
assuming the appearance of those which are 
open to all the world, and gradually becoming 
more destitute of peculiar zeal, and that charac- 
teristic of an apostolical church, the reproach 
and enmity of the world. Moreover, it must 
also be admitted, that the churches of Moravia 
and Bohemia were, at this period, and for the 
very same reasons, experiencing a similar decay. 
The Lord appears in succession to have ap- 
pointed certain particular portions of his church 
to hold forth the word of life among men, and, 
when their time is expired, he transfers the glo- 
rious office to others. 



FROM 1548 TO 1627. 



93 



At the epoch which we have now reached, 
every thing seems to indicate that the christians 
of Bohemia were about to lose the distinguished 
character they had sustained for nearly two hun- 
dred years. The reformation had surmounted 
external obstacles ; protestantism was, in some 
measure, legally recognized in different coun- 
tries ; and, according to the testimony of their 
own historians, the brethren were beginning to 
feel the danger of their prosperity. It will ap- 
pear, however, that they were not to be utterly 
extinguished in Bohemia without a parting flash 
of brightness. 

We have already remarked, (chap, iv.) in 
speaking of the affairs of Poland and Prussia, 
that a few years after the great emigration from 
Poland, the brethren of Bohemia and Moravia 
had again, in 1564, under the emperor Maximi- 
lian ii. obtained the liberty of opening their 
places of worship, and exercising their religious 
services. On this, a great number of those who 
had been constrained to leave the country return- 
ed ; but their inveterate enemies soon sought fresh 
means for their destruction. With this design, 
the arch-chancellor of Bohemia repaired to 
Vienna, in 1563, where, by his continual impor- 
tunities, he at length induced the emperor, 
though unwillingly, to sign a decree for a fresh 
persecution. The Lord, however, interposed to 
save his people, and to prevent the execution of 
the cruel edict. As the chancellor was on his 
way back to Bohemia, rejoicing at his success, 
at the very moment that he was passing the 
bridge over the Danube, at the gates of Vienna, 



94 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 

that part on which he was sunk under him, and 
he fell into the river with all his baggage. The 
greatest part of his suite were drowned ; a young- 
gentleman, who saved himself by swimming his 
horse over, saw the chancellor rise to the surface 
of the water, seized him by his gold chain, and 
succeeded in supporting him until some fisher- 
men came in a boat to his assistance, but life 
was entirely extinct. The casket which con- 
tained the persecuting decree was carried down 
the stream, and never seen afterwards. The 
gentleman who escaped from death on this oc- 
casion, and who lived to an advanced age to 
attest the fact, was so powerfully affected, that 
he joined the brethren's church ; and the em- 
peror was so little disposed to renew the edict, 
that, on the contrary, he expressed himself in a 
very favourable way towards the christians in 
Bohemia, who enjoyed perfect repose for a long 
time afterwards. 

The brethren availed themselves of this interval 
of calm, to edify one another in the truth, to la- 
bour generally for the advancement of the king- 
dom of Jesus Christ, and to hold many synods, 
over which their pious bishops, John Augusta, 
that faithful witness, so much tried by tortures 
and imprisonment, and Matthew Erythans pre- 
sided. We may form some judgment of the 
external prosperity of their churches at this 
time, by the circumstance, that at one of these 
synods there were present, besides ecclesiastics, 
not less than seventeen of the most distinguished 
barons of Bohemia, and one hundred and forty- 
six nobles of inferior rank. One important 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



95 



object of their deliberations at this time, was to 
procure for their churches a new translation of 
the Bible into the Bohemian tongue, according to 
the original text ; the versions hitherto in use hav- 
ing been made from the latin vulgate. With this 
view, they sent some of their theological students 
to the universities of Wittenberg and Basle, to 
study the oriental languages ; and these, on 
their return, met for this important work, with a 
certain number of ministers, at the castle of 
Kralitz, in Moravia, the residence of a nobleman, 
who took upon himself all the expense of the un- 
dertaking. Here they began their work, under 
the direction of bishop iEneas and his co-elders. 
They established a printing press at Kralitz, ex- 
pressly devoted to this work, in which they spent 
not less than fourteen years of their time and 
labour. This version was published in six suc- 
cessive volumes, from the year 1579 to 1593; 
it was revised by Aston, in 1601, and the nu- 
merous editions of it, since issued, furnish 
abundant proof of the eagerness with which it 
was received. 

Although this is the first mention of the send- 
ing of young men from the brethren's church to 
the German universities, it was not without a 
precedent. Before this period some gentlemen 
among the brethren had sent their sons thither 
under the care of a deacon, and some other 
young people had gone alone. Laurentius, who 
was sent to Wittenberg by George Israel, on 
the subject of the disputes at Posen, met with 
ten of the brethren's children in that university. 
The churches, however, soon felt the necessity 



96 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1543, 



of establishing colleges and seminaries of their 
own, because the means of instruction they yet 
possessed were far from being sufficient. In 
earlier times, and sometimes even at that period, 
the bishops, or preachers, in order to provide a 
succession of ministers, retained with them, un- 
der the name of acolyths, one or two young 
men, whose education they directed. But this 
mode of instruction employed a great number 
of persons, and afforded very little advantages 
in proportion ; and, as to availing themselves of 
the assistance of foreign universities, the bre- 
thren soon perceived that, with the variety of 
useful knowledge winch their young people ac- 
quired there, they brought away much vanity, 
and other things hurtful to the simplicity of 
the churches. They therefore resolved, in the 
synod of Bunzlau, in 1584, to establish three 
seminaries in the cities of Bunzlau, Prazerow, 
and Evanzitz, in Moravia ; and although it was 
well known that the churches were too poor to * 
provide a fixed salary for the professors, yet 
there instantly resorted to these places a suffi- 
cient number of men highly distinguished by 
their learning and talents. 

Not long before this, in 1574, the theological 
faculty and clergy of Heidelberg signified their 
cordial approbation of the brethren's confession 
of faith, which had been printed at AVittenberg 
the preceding year, accompanied with a preface 
by Luther, and a very honourable testimony from 
the faculty of theology of that city. The Hei- 
delberg divines also sent a deputation to the 
Moravian brethren, to request them to communi- 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



97 



cate the constitution of their churches, as they 
wished to make use of it in completing their 
own. On the return of these deputies, they 
again sent to express their satisfaction in a very 
flattering manner, declaring, that they had 
not yet been able to introduce this order among 
themselves ; while the brethren, because they had 
too closely united the civil government with spi- 
ritual things, though careful to submit in tempo- 
ral things to the government and to all men, had 
not suffered themselves to be deprived of that 
liberty which they had obtained by the blood 
of Christ. Thus the brethren's churches met 
with approbation, and even increasing honour, 
from other bodies of christians. 

The liberty, and even the very existence of 
their religious worship had not yet, however, 
been acknowledged by the government; and 
there was no way of obtaining this but by pre- 
senting a profession of their faith, in concert 
with the Calixtines and Lutherans. The brethren 
thought it their duty to seek such a sanction 
from the government, and the other protestants 
imagined the general cause would gain ground 
by a union of this kind; they therefore imme- 
diately proceeded to call an assembly, to which 
each party sent deputies of the clergy, nobility, 
and citizens. Desiring to shelter themselves 
from persecution, and viewing only the bright 
side of the projected union, they determined to 
lay aside all sophistry and controversy, and to 
express their unity of mind in the articles of 
faith common to the three churches. This con- 
fession was signed by all the deputies, and 

K 



98 FROM THE PERSECUTION IK 1548, 



presented to the emperor Maximilian, who received 
it graciously? and promised his royal protection 
to all who adhered to it. The same assembly, 
in order to furnish another bond for uniting the 
three confessions, entreated the emperor's per- 
mission to establish a college and consistory for 
the three protestant churches ; but this request 
was not then granted, though a hope was given 
that it would be allowed soon afterwards. 

On this new confession, the theological faculty 
of Wittenberg passed the following opinion : — 
" This confession, it is true, is short, and we 
may easily perceive that, in framing it, the prin- 
cipal object was to avoid all disputes on difficult 
questions. This circumstance would probably 
draw down upon it the criticisms of some con- 
tentious persons ; we, however, commend your 
christian prudence, for it is certain we cannot 
better edify and serve the church, than by preach- 
ing the pure doctrine of the gospel, without any 
of those useless subtleties which ambition has 
invented, and which only tend to produce dis- 
putes.'' 

Thus, then, this matter terminated according 
to the wishes of the brethren, who found them- 
selves more and more established in the esteem 
of men ; and the profound rest which they en- 
joyed was only interrupted by a single passing 
storm, until the last persecution arose, which 
buried them in the stillness of death. On the 
death of Maximilian ii., Rodolph ii. ascended 
the throne. He suffered himself to be prevailed 
upon by the jesuits, to renew the old edict 
against the Picards, which Wladislas had pub- 
1 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627- 



99 



lished in 1506, and immediately all their chapels 
were closed. This, however, did not continue 
long : the numerous friends of the brethren 
protested against these unjust measures, and 
represented to the emperor that they were not 
such a people as had been described to him. 
His own conscience, indeed, had already accused 
him ; for, on hearing that the Turks had taken 
Alba Royal,' he exclaimed, " I expected some- 
thing of the kind, since I arrogated to myself a 
power over conscience, that belongs to God 
only." He not only withdrew his edict, but, in 
1609, granted letters patent, both to the brethren 
and all his protestant subjects of Bohemia and 
Moravia, by which they were allowed the free 
exercise of their religious worship, the right 
of building new chapels, and even of having 
public defenders, or advocates of the church, to 
maintain their rights. The jesuits, always ready 
to mark out the brethren from all the other pro- 
testants, strove hard to get them excluded from 
this general concession ; but the states would 
not listen to their solicitations, and declared 
their intention not to trouble these churches in 
the exercise of their religion. But, as if the 
brethren had been doomed to experience every 
kind of opposition, they had the mortification to 
find themselves repulsed by some of the other 
protestants, and denied the common privileges 
which had been granted to them. The letters 
patent decreed, according to the wish that had 
been so long expressed, that besides the protest- 
ant university of Prague, the existence of which 
was publicly sanctioned, the Calixtines, the 



100 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



brethren, and the Lutherans, should be allowed 
to form a general consistory, each communion 
sending three deputies, with whom were to be 
joined three professors of the university. From 
this privilege a certain party among the protest- 
ants wished to exclude the brethren, on the 
ground of their peculiar discipline; but the 
states themselves represented, that the brethren 
had laboured till that time in the 'Lord's vine- 
yard with as much diligence and faithfulness as 
other evangelical christians, and it would be 
unjust, in the sight of God and man, to exclude 
them now they were on the eve of reaping the 
fruits of their labour. 

Thus, instead of excluding the brethren from 
the general consistory, it was resolved, that as 
long as they retained their own rites of worship 
and discipline, they should not only send to it 
three members chosen out cf their own body, 
but that one of their bishops should also be 
joined as colleague with the moderator, who was 
a Calixtine. Finally, the chapel of Bethlehem 
at Prague, where John Huss had commenced 
his labours as a preacher of the gospel, was re- 
stored to them, and as it was not sufficiently 
large, they were allowed to build another in the 
same city for the Germans and Bohemians. 
These letters patent, granted by the emperor, 
were read publicly, amidst the acclamations of 
the people and the ringing of bells ; the arch- 
dean of the Calixtines, the moderator of the 
consistory, officiated, and delivered so moving 
a discourse, that the whole congregation was 
melted into tears. The service was closed by 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627- 101 



the celebration of the Te Deu?n, with cries of 
joy from the assembled multitude. Some serious 
souls might, without doubt, have perceived at 
the very moment, that they were not altogether 
unaffected with a feeling of triumph over their 
enemies; but the great mass of the people thought 
only of the joy, and the brethren beheld them- 
selves at the very pinnacle of their worldly pro- 
sperity and power. 

Who at this time would have said, that these 
churches, recognised and protected by the go- 
vernment, associated with the general cause of 
protestantism in Europe, supported by institu- 
tions of every kind, and honoured in all en- 
lightened countries, were in a situation less firm 
than that of their obscure predecessors of former 
ages ; in fact, than those churches overwhelmed 
with sufferings, which met together in the caverns 
and the woods, and had to encounter the most 
bloody persecutions ! In fact, if we reckon 
only from the time when the constitution of their 
churches was fixed in 1457, to the last of their 
great persecutions in 1548, we find them pros- 
pering under oppression for ninety successive 
years ; and if we go back to the first origin of 
these churches in 1415, when the day of their 
birth was, as it were, enlightened by the flames 
from the stake of John Huss, we see them main- 
taining their ground for 130 years, in the midst 
of continual persecution ; while those churches, 
which now triumphed in worldly prosperity, fell 
and disappeared for ever before the first storm 
which assailed them. We say, for ever; for 
k 2 



102 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



though they rose again, at the end of a century, 
it was to shoot forth afresh in a milder climate, 
and in a country that was not exposed to* the 
troubles which their forefathers had experienced. 
Thus evidently does the difference appear be- 
tween the power of God and the strength of 
man : " My strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness." 

These reflections occurred also to the brethren's 
own historians ; for Commenius has no sooner 
finished the account, that we have just been 
relating, than he thus exclaims: — " But, alas! 
religious liberty will soon degenerate into the 
liberty of the flesh ! Hence it happened that, 
from the very first, this liberty, which in the 
issue introduced so much carnal security, was 
not pleasing to pious souls, who feared its evil 
consequences." In truth, from that time we 
observe the brethren evidently relaxing in their 
discipline. As they had felt themselves bound, 
for conscience* sake, to refuse the demand made 
of them at the union of the three confessions to 
sacrifice every thing, they thought themselves 
obliged, through a kind of false generosity, to 
yield in some points ; and thus, according to the 
testimony of their own historians, they first fell 
into disorder, and then into evils, which drew 
upon them, in later times, many sufferings, that 
could not be said to be endured for the name of 
Christ. 

Immediately on the death of the emperor 
Rodolph, in 1612, the court of Home began to 
put into execution the decrees of the council of 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



103 



Trent against protestants in general, beginning 
with those of Bohemia and Moravia.* All sorts 
of vexations and oppressions were exercised to- 
wards them, against which the edict of toleration 
and their own remonstrances were of no avail. 
This harsh treatment was continued, until these 
oppressed people, stimulated by an unfortunate 
persuasion of their own strength, and confound- 
ing their temporal rights, which the christian 
ought always to be ready to yield, with those of 
conscience, which can be maintained without 
the use of carnal weapons, refused allegiance 
to their new king, Ferdinand ii. They even 
went farther, (we are speaking now of the pro- 
testants in general, and not of the brethren 
only,) and proceeded even to acts of aggres- 
sion. Being exasperated to the highest pitch, 
the protestant party threw the imperial repre- 
sentatives out of the windows of Prague castle, 
and chose Frederic, the elector palatine, for 
their king. This was precisely what their enemies 
wanted; for they could now levy war on them 
as rebels. It was the origin of the famous 
thirty years' war, the happy consequences of 
which, in respect to liberty of conscience, are 
still felt, and which, in a certain sense, gave a 
mortal blow to the papal authority. 

The brethren, perhaps, had much less to do 
with this armed resistance than others ; but no 
distinction was made, and their churches were 

; * The political causes of this persecution, and the acts of 
violence by which they attained their end in the extermina- 
tion of the protestants of those countries, are detailed in 
Commenius' History of the Persecutions of Bohemia. 



104 FROM THE PERSECUTION TX 1548, 

involved in the deluge of misfortunes, which 
overwhelmed all the protestants of Bohemia. 
After their defeat by the imperialists, in the dis- 
astrous battle of Weissenberg, near Prague, on. 
the 6th of November, 1620, some were made 
prisoners, and others fled into the neighbouring 
countries. The leading men were induced to 
return to the country by the promise of an ab- 
solute indemnity for the past ; but no sooner 
had they done this, than they were thrown into 
prison, and several of them condemned to death. 
It will not be deemed irrelevant to this history, 
we think, to give some account of the execution 
of twenty-seven of the most eminent defenders 
of the protestants, which took place at Prague, 
June 21, 1621, when they were beheaded, and 
died as confessors of Christ. It is not too 
much to say this ; for if these faithful men, 
several of whom were distinguished by their 
abilities, and others had filled important situ- 
ations in the state, committed a fault in attempt- 
ing by violence to defend the temporal rights, of 
which it was attempted to despoil them, it ought 
to be remembered that they were rights which 
they defended, and rights that no one would ever 
have disputed, if they had not hated them for 
being christians, and for refusing " to worship 
the beast and his image, and to receive the mark 
of his name." We have already seen, that this 
w T ar was provoked by innumerable vexations, 
and the flagrant violation of all the concessions 
which had been made to them by the emperor 
Rodolph, concessions which the reigning monarch 
had sworn to respect. It was. then, for the gos- 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 105 



pel's sake that they suffered, and they might, 
with a good conscience, comfort themselves with 
the thought, often very necessary to our support, 
that if the wise men of this world judge accord- 
ing to appearances, there is a Judge in heaven, 
who is no respecter of persons, and whose voice 
will be heard here below in every heart, even 
before it shall speak in terrible majesty, in 
the great day of final retribution. The brethren 
felt the full force of this truth, and were sup- 
ported with the consolations of the martyrs of 
the Lord Jesus. 

On the 19th of June, sentence of death was 
pronounced upon them, and the 21st was fixed 
for their execution. The catholic priests were 
immediately on the alert, exhorting the prisoners 
to enter into the Romish church, and assuring 
them of the emperor's pardon if they would do 
so ; another proof, if any were needed, of the true 
spirit of these executions. Their replies were 
such, that the priests withdrew, astonished both 
at the- knowledge of the scriptures and the firm- 
ness manifested by these excellent men. Not- 
withstanding the cruelty of their enemies, a few 
of the Lutheran ministers in Prague were allowed 
to attend on them ; but so great was the hatred 
of the papists to the brethren in particular, that 
they granted to none of the members of that 
church the privilege of having any of their ow 7 n 
ministers, although almost half the number of 
the prisoners were of that communion. Most 
of them received the Lord's supper from a Lu- 
theran minister ; a few scrupled to do it, lest they 
should offend some of their weaker brethren. 



106 FROM THE PERSECUTION IK 1548 ? 



On the 20th, the noblemen, who had been 
confined in the castle of Prague, were conducted 
to a house in the city, before which the scaffold 
had been erected. When their brethren, who 
were imprisoned in different parts of the same 
building, received information of their approach, 
they ran to the windows, and received them with 
the singing of hymns ; this drew together a great 
concourse of people, who testified by their tears 
their compassion for these sheep appointed to 
the slaughter. 

They slept little that night, but spent it almost 
entirely in singing the praises of God, in prayer, 
and godly conversation. As soon as the day 
dawned they dressed themselves in their best 
apparel, as if they were preparing for a great 
festival; and when, at five o'clock, a cannon 
from the castle of Prague gave the signal for the 
executions, they embraced one another, wishing 
each other strength from on high to be faithful 
unto death, and repeating exhortations to chris- 
tian firmness. The moment being arrived for 
their going to the scaffold, they bade each other 
farewell in the most affecting way : " The Lord 
bless you and keep you, my beloved friends/' 
said the sufferer who went first, to those that re- 
mained ; " may He grant you the consolations 
of his Holy Spirit, and patience and courage, 
that you may now confirm, by a glorious death, 
what you have before professed in your life. I 
go before, to be accounted worthy to see the 
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ ; you shall soon 
follow me," &c. 44 May God bless you," re- 
plied the rest; " the way that you go, for the 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



107 



I love of his Son Jesus Christ. Go before us, dear 
brother, to our Father's house ; we are persuaded 
bv Jesus, in whom we believe, that this day we 
shall see you again in the heavenly joy," &c. 

The first who ascended the scaffold, was the 
count de Schlick, who had formerly been go- 
vernor to king Frederic, in Bohemia, and the 
first defender of the brethren's church ; a man 
of great talents and sincere piety, beloved and 
respected by all good men. On hearing his 
sentence, which ordered, that, after his decapi- 
tation, his body should be quartered and exposed 
in a cross-way, he said, quoting a Latin author, 
Levis est j act ura sepulchri : " It is of little con- 
sequence to want a grave." As the preacher w T as 
exhorting him to courage, " Ah," said he, u I 

I can assure you I have no fear ; I thought it my 
duty to advocate the cause of religion in its 
purity, and I am ready to prove by my death 
the faithfulness with which I would guard it." 
When he heard the signal gun for the execution, 
he cried out, " There is the harbinger of death ; 
I shall be ready to meet it. Lord Jesus, have 
mercy on us." Being arrived on the scaffold, 
he said, while turning to the rising sun, " Jesus, 
Sun of Righteousness, help me to penetrate 
through the gloom of death, into eternal light." 
The dignity and serenity with which he walked 
up and down the scaffold, and then kneeled in 
prayer, to receive the stroke of the sword, moved 
the spectators even to tears. 

After him went Wenzeslas of Budowa, who 
also belonged to the brethren's church. He was 
an old man, 66 years of age, learned, and well 



108 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



known by his various works ; he had filled some of 
the most important situations in the government 
under the emperor Rodolph, and had a seat in the 
consistory of Prague, as one of the defenders of 
the brethren. When he saw the danger ap- 
proaching, he went to put his family in a place 
of safety, and returned alone to Prague, de- 
claring, that his conscience would not suffer him 
to desert the good cause. 44 Perhaps/' said he, 
44 it is the Lord's will that I should seal it wits 
my blood." When his secretary told him, they 
were spreading a report that he was dying of 
grief, he exclaimed, 44 I die of grief! see," point- 
ing to his Bible, 4 4 this paradise of my soul has 
never furnished me with fruits so sweet as at 
this day ; and no one shall see the day in which 
it can be said that Budowa died of grief." 

While he was in prison, two capuchin friars 
went to visit him, in order, as they said, to show 
him the way to heaven. 44 Oh," said he, u by 
the grace of God, I know it." 44 Perhaps, sir," 
replied they, 44 you may be mistaken." 44 No, 
no," said he, 44 my hope is founded on the word 
of God, which can never deceive ; I have no 
other way of going to heaven than by Him who 
said, 4 I am the way, the truth, and the life.' " 
After refuting their ideas about the authority of 
the Romish church, he offered, in his turn, to 
show them, as they expressed it, the way to 
heaven ; on which these poor creatures went away, 
marking themselves with the sign of the cross. 
On the day of his trial, two jesuits came to him, 
expressing a desire to save his soul : 44 Fathers," 
said he to them, " I wish you were as sure of 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



109 



your salvation as I am of mine ; I know in whom 
I have believed ; I know that he has laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness." (i Oh," cried 
they, " that has nothing to do with you, Paul 
says that only of himself." " Not exclusively," 
replied he; " for the apostle adds, ' and not to 
me only, but also to all those who love his ap- 
pearing/" By this, and many other declarations 
of scripture, he so convicted them of their igno- 
rance, that they left him, full of confusion and 
wrath, calling him a hardened heretic. Soon 
after this, with a serene air, he ascended the 
already bloody scaffold ; he uncovered his head, 
smoothed down his hair, saying, " See, my grey 
hairs, what an honour is bestowed upon you, to 
wear the crown of martyrdom." Upon this he 
began to pray, lifting up his head, which was 
instantly severed from his body, and then placed 
upon a tower, an object for public observation. 

After several others, they led out the lord of 
Kapplisch, an old man of eighty-six, who had 
served the state with glory under the emperor 
Rodolph and his successors. He said to the 
Lutheran minister who came to visit him, 66 My 
death, it is true, is ignominious in the eves of 
the world, but in the sight of God it is full of 
glory. On first hearing my sentence, my weak 
flesh began to tremble; but, by the grace of 
God, I now do not feel the least fear of death." 
While dressing himself, on the day of his execu- 
tion, he said to the preacher who attended him, 
" See, I am putting on my wedding garments." 
The preacher replied, that the righteousness of 
Christ adorns us internally in a much more 



110 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 

glorious manner. " Yes," said the good old 
man ; " but I wish to adorn even the outside, in 
honour of my Bridegroom. " Being called out, 
he replied, 66 I am ready; I have waited long 
enough." As he was very weak in the legs, and 
had some steps to descend, he intreated the 
Lord to strengthen him, that he might not, by 
falling, furnish occasion of laughter to his ene- 
mies. He had requested the executioner to strike 
with his sword at the very moment that he should 
fall on his knees and raise his head, lest he 
should fall through weakness, if it were delayed 
too long. But the poor old man stooped so 
much as he knelt, that the executioner was 
afraid to strike. Perceiving this, the minister 
cried out to the martyr, " My lord, you have 
committed your soul to Christ, now lift up your 
hoary head boldly, and raise it towards heaven. " 
He raised it as high as he could, saying, " Lord 
Jesus, into thy hands I commit my spirit;" and 
while he was uttering the prayer, his head fell, 
and the executioner placed it on a spike over 
the gate. 

A little afterwards, came forth Henry Otto de 
Loss, another of the defenders or patrons of the 
brethren's church, who had been one of the 
ministers of the state. He was one of those 
who felt some scruples at receiving the Lord's 
supper from a Lutheran minister; and as he 
could not have the attendance of one of his own 
church, he felt a little pain at the idea of being- 
deprived of this ordinance. He was, however, 
richly consoled for it. When the Lutheran minis- 
ter came to accompany him to the place of exe- 
1 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. Ill 



cution, he rose up in his chair, as if in rapture, 
and said to him, 66 Oh, how rejoiced I am to see 
you, man of God, in order to tell you what has 
happened to me. I was sitting in this chair, in 
deep affliction at not having partaken of the 
Lord's supper, as you know I wished for a mi- 
nister of our own church. I fell asleep in the 
midst of my grief, and behold, in a dream the 
Lord appeared to me, and said, < My grace is 
sufficient for thee, I wash thee with my blood/ 
At that moment I felt as if his blood flowed over 
my heart, and I awoke refreshed and strengthened 
in a wonderful manner. " On this he broke out 
in the following triumphant words : " Yes, — 
believe ! and thou hast eaten the flesh of the 
Son of man. I have no fear of death ! My 
Jesus is coming to meet me with his angels, to 
lead me to the marriage supper, where I shall 
drink eternally with him of the cup of joy and 
delight." He then joyfully ascended the scaf- 
fold, kneeled down to pray, and, rising again, 
took off his outer garments ; after which , he 
again fell on his knees, crying, " Lord Jesus, 
receive me to thy glory." While he was pro- 
nouncing the last words, he received the blow. 
In the same state of peace and joy did all the 
rest finish their course. Not one of them showed 
the least inclination to deny his faith. 

After these executions, the government pro- 
ceeded to the total and systematic extirpation of 
protestantism throughout Bohemia and Moravia. 
The anabaptists (as they were called) of Mo- 
ravia were the first to feel the effects of this per- 
secution. They had forty-five colleges or districts 



112 FROM THE PERSECUTION' IX 1548, 



in this country, each of which contained several 
hundreds, and some of them a thousand mem- 
bers. Many of them were driven out of the 
country, and these were more happy than those 
who were permitted to stay ; for as their perse- 
cutors wished at first to avoid the appearance 
of a religious persecution, lest they should irri- 
tate the neighbouring princes, they harassed 
the protestants by such extortions and plun- 
dering of their goods, and by such severe tor- 
tures, that a great number of them abandoned 
their profession, or were obliged to flee from 
their country, leaving all their goods behind 
them. Perceiving, however, that they could not 
thus gain their ends, but only desolated the 
country of its inhabitants, they had recourse to 
other measures. They first drove all the bre- 
thren's preachers out of Prague, together with 
eighteen other protestant ministers. Shortly 
afterwards, in 1624, they pursued the same plan 
in every other part of the kingdom, depriving the 
protestants of all the privileges which yet re- 
mained to them. Many of the expelled minis- 
ters hid themselves in caves, from which they 
came out secretly to visit their brethren ; but 
they were discovered, one after another, and 
either put to death or banished from the country. 

It is worthy of remark, that the persecutors 
made use of these violent measures, not only 
against those districts and cities which had taken 
part in the war, and which they could accuse of 
the crime of rebellion, but against every one who 
was a protestant ; and it seemed evidently to be 
the design of the roman catholics to exterminate 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 113 

them entirely from every part of the country. 
At that time the thirty years' war was raging, 
and the immediate successes of the catholic ar- 
mies gave the enemies of the gospel an opportu- 
nity of openly carrying their project into execu- 
tion. One instance will serve to prove what we 
have advanced. Baron Zerotin, deputy margrave 
of Moravia, had taken a great number of the 
brethren under his protection, and afforded an 
asylum on his estates to twenty-four of their 
pastors. He remonstrated with the imperial 
court in their favour, maintaining that the sen- 
tence of banishment did not effect either himself 
or his subjects, since they had remained faithful 
to the emperor. His remonstrances, however, 
were of no avail, and he was obliged to quit the 
country, with the bishops and ministers of the 
brethren whom he had concealed on his estates. 

In the place of the exiled ministers, they filled 
the churches with priests of the most abandoned 
character ; and as these worthless men could 
not gain the esteem of the people, they esta- 
blished a commission of reform, to oblige the pro- 
testants that still remained in the country, either 
by stratagem or force, to abjure their religion. 
To accomplish their purpose, they made use of 
the most corrupt methods, not scrupling even to 
declare that they might believe secretly in their 
hearts whatever they chose, provided they ad- 
hered outwardly to the romish church, and sub- 
mitted to the pope. But as most of them could 
not be shaken, either by stratagem, force, or tor- 
ture, and the nobility, instructed by past history, 
and relying upon the assistance of the protestant 
l 2 



114 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1543, 



powers, encouraged the people to hope for an 
approaching deliverance, all the protestant no- 
bles were banished, in 1627, after they had been 
despoiled of their goods, and ruined by various 
modes of extortion. M£ny hundreds of families, 
nobles as well as rich citizens, fled into Saxony, 
Silesia, Brandenberg, Poland, Prussia, the Low 
Countries, and other parts of Germany. The 
common people were watched with the utmost 
severity, to hinder them from emigrating, and to 
force them to apostatize ; some thousands, how- 
ever, found means to follow their pastors in their 
distress, while the rest continued to groan under 
their painful and oppressive yoke ; and thus an 
end was put to the very existence of the protes- 
tants of Bohemia in general, and especially of 
the brethren. 

How astonishing is the issue of human events ! 
These were the protestants of Bohemia, who, more 
than a century before, had first raised the stand- 
ard of the reformation in Europe. These were 
the men who kindled the thirty years' war, who 
completely delivered the protestant church from 
the scaffolds of the romanists, and obtained re- 
ligious liberty for all the reformed states. Yet, 
in the peace concluded in 1648, the protestant 
powers abandoned their brethren of Bohemia 
and Moravia to the rage of Austria ; nor did 
they seek to shield them from absolute ruin by- 
one stipulation in their favour. In short, after 
the persecution, which has been just mentioned, 
(in 1621 — 1627,) we find no church or school 
for the protestants in all these countries ; all 
bibles and religious books, which could be seized 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627- 



115 



after this period, were burned, in some places 
under the gallows ; the tyranny exercised over 
the consciences of men entirely depopulated 
whole districts, and sacrificed to the papal hi- 
erarchy the lives and property of some hundred 
thousands of individuals. 

In 1627, Commenius with a party of his church 
retired into Poland, by way of Silesia. At the 
moment of quitting his native country, from a 
mountain on the frontiers, he took a last view of 
Moravia and Bohemia, and falling down on his 
knees with his brethren, poured out his cries to 
God, accompanied with many tears, entreating 
him not to abandon those countries, or wholly to 
deprive them of his word, but to continue to pre- 
serve in them the holy seed. The history of the 
brethren to the present moment, shows that his 
prayer was heard. 

A few particulars of the life of this extraordi- 
nary man, who laboured so much for the bre- 
thren's church, will form no unsuitable sequel to 
this account. 

He was born at Konina, in Moravia, in 1592, 
and was first made pastor of the church in Ful- 
neck, in 1618, where he suffered under the edict 
of persecution. He was one of the most learned 
men of his time. At Lissa, where he took refuge, 
he published an elementary work, entitled Janua 
Linguarum reserata ; or, 4 4 The Gate of Languages 
unlocked;" which was translated into twelve 
European and several Asiatic languages. His 
learning procured him such renown, that he re- 
ceived solicitations from Sweden, England, and 
Transylvania, to go and improve the state of the 



116 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



public schools in those countries. Residingchiefly, 
however, at Elbingen and Lissa, he employed his 
long leisure in compiling a dictionary of all the 
sciences ; but a fire breaking out in the latter 
city, in 1656, and consuming the greater part of 
his books, he repaired first to Frankfort on the 
Oder, then to Hamburg, and at last, in 1657, to 
Amsterdam, where he supported himself by tui- 
tion, and published his philosophical works. 

His greatest labours, however, as we may 
easily suppose, were in the service of the church ; 
and especially of that part of it which the Lord 
had confided to his care. In a synod assembled 
at Lissa, in 1632, he was ordained bishop of the 
dispersed brethren of Bohemia and Moravia. 
Wherever he went, he solicited protection for 
his oppressed church ; and, as long as the thirty 
years' war continued, he still entertained hopes 
of seeing it prosper once more. For this pur- 
pose he addressed himself to several protestant 
princes in Germany, and particularly implored 
the interposition of the English nation, when, in 
1641, he was invited into that country to reform 
the schools. And when there was no longer any 
human probability of seeing the ruins of his 
church raised, he still failed not to labour earn- 
estly for its welfare. 

In 1649 he published " An Extract of the 
History of the Origin of the United Brethren, " a 
work written in latin by Lusatius, a Polish gen- 
tleman of the Swiss church, who in his travels 
had become acquainted with the brethren ot 
Bohemia, and had declared himself one of their 
warmest friends. To this work Commenius added 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627- 



117 



another book, treating of the manners and insti- 
tutions of the brethren ; and closed the whole 
with an exhortation addressed to the dispersed of 
the flock, urging them to regain their first love, 
and the zeal of their forefathers. 

As their church was threatened with total ruin, 
he endeavoured to preserve the memory of it by- 
publishing, besides the abovementioned work, 
" An Exposition of the Discipline and Constitu- 
tion of the Church of the United Brethren,'' fol- 
lowed by a plan for the reform of the church in 
general. This he committed, as his last will and 
testament, to the English church, to be made use 
of as circumstances might require, and preserved 
for the descendants of the brethren. In the de- 
dication, which he addresses to the church of 
England, he thus writes : 4 ' If it shall one day 
please the Lord to make the afflictions we have 
hitherto experienced turn to some good account, 
if by means of these christians, so much tried by 
his chastisement, the gospel should spread among 
other nations, so that, as formerly, our fall and 
loss should become the riches of the gentiles ; in 
that case, dear friends, we recommend to you 
this church, our beloved mother, of which we 
intreat you to take charge in our stead, whether 
the Lord condescend to revive her in her native 
land, or establish her as a living church in some 
other country. That God, who once took away 
and overthrew the dwelling-places, the cities, 
and the temple of his people, though they repaid 
his kindness with ingratitude, yet left the found- 
ations of the altar, that their posterity might 
raise up the temple again on its former base. 
Thus if, as many pious and enlightened men 



118 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 

have thought, we have received of God any thing 
that is true, and pure, and lovely, and of good 
report ; if there be among us any thing worthy of 
praise, we ought certainly to take care that it be 
not utterly lost with us. We should take heed, 
that the foundations be not so entirely destroy- 
ed, that our descendants may not be able to dis- 
cover them. On this account we now commit 
to you this deposit, hoping that it may answer 
this purpose, and make provision for our pos- 
terity/' 

While Commenius was thus soliciting, in be- 
half of his brethren, all persons who might be 
serviceable to them, he did not neglect to exhort 
and edify them as much as he could. He com- 
posed for them a catechism, which was printed 
at Amsterdam, and dedicated to all the dispersed 
sheep of Jesus Christ, particularly those at Ful- 
neck and its neighbourhood. It closes with these 
words : " May the God of all grace grant you to 
be strengthened with all might by his Spirit in 
the inner man, for the sake of Jesus Christ ; may 
he help you to be persevering in prayer, to live 
separate from sin, to be firm in the midst of 
temptations and tribulations, for the glory of his 
name, and that you may be for ever the faithful 
subjects of his kingdom." 

The last important object which occupied the 
attention of this worthy pastor, was the preserv- 
ation of religious worship and the sacred minis- 
try among the brethren. Always hoping that 
God would one day graciously give a new ex- 
istence to this part of his flock, he was desirous, 
that even in its dispersion it should never want 
properly authorized pastors; and for this pur- 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627- 119 



pose he determined to ordain a new bishop, who 
might take the place of himself and his colleagues 
after their decease, during the disorganization 
of their churches. John Buttner, his sole col- 
league, had the same views of this matter, and 
had written to him about it. They instantly- 
proceeded to choose some persons fit to fill 
this office, when Nicholas Gertichius, court 
preacher of the duke of Lignitz, was chosen for 
the churches in Poland ; and for the brethren 
dispersed throughout Bohemia and Moravia, 
Peter Figulus, surnamed Jablonsky, the son-in- 
law of Commenius, who had emigrated with him 
from Bohemia while he was yet a child. Their 
ordination took place at a synod held at Mielenc- 
zyn in 1662. Commenius, being unable to attend 
on account of his advanced age, sent his colleague, 
with full powers to act in his name, and a certi- 
ficate of ordination. The latter of these new 
bishops, Peter Jablonsky, dying before Comme- 
nius, in 1670, his son, Daniel Ernest Jablonsky, 
was chosen as his successor in the same year, 
and appointed to preside over both the brethren 
of Poland and those of the dispersion. This was 
the same David Jablonsky whom God preserved 
until the renewal of the brethren's church, when 
he was enabled to transmit to it the ancient 
episcopal ordination at Berlin, in 1735; when, as- 
sisted by Christian Sitkovius, bishop of the Polish 
brethren, he conferred the ordination of a bishop 
of the new church on the Moravian brother 
David Netchmann. He thus formed a link in 
the chain between Commenius and Netchmann ; 
Jablonsky had seen them both, and gave to 



120 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



the latter that ordination which he had received 
from the former. 

This interesting man finished his course on the 
15th of October, 1671, at the age of eighty years, 
having presided over the synods of the bre- 
thren since the year 1648. He left a son, 
who died at Amsterdam, where he was pastor of 
the Bohemian refugees ; and a daughter, who 
was, as we have seen, the mother of the last 
bishop of the ancient church of the United 
Brethren. 

History gives us little information about the 
protestants of Bohemia, the brethren, or others, 
after this time. As long as the thirty years' war 
lasted, they still entertained hopes of recovering 
their religious liberty ; but as they were sacri- 
ficed at the peace of Westphalia, and the perse- 
cution continued and even assumed new fury, a 
great number of those who still remained in the 
country determined also to make their escape, 
and contrived to do so notwithstanding all the 
vigilance with which they were watched. Many 
took refuge in Silesia ; a great number more, 
especially among the brethren, retired into Po- 
land and Prussia, where they still found some of 
their churches existing. The greatest part esta- 
blished themselves in Saxony and Upper Lusatia, 
where most of them were mixed in a short time 
with the rest of the inhabitants ; but some still 
formed churches, or even built whole villages for 
themselves. It is reckoned that not less than 
eighty thousand of the Bohemian subjects thus 
left their country, at different times, after the 
year 1624. 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 



121 



The following are some of the places where 
they either settled, or founded churches : — 

1. Dresden. In 1670, a church of Bohemian 
Lutherans was formed here under Martinius, 
who had been their minister at Prague. He ob- 
tained an order from the court, that the brethren, 
who had taken refuge in this city, should unite, 
as well as the other Bohemians, with the Lu- 
theran church, or quit the country. This obliged 
most of them again to incur the miseries of ba- 
nishment, and they repaired to Lissa, in Poland. 

2. At Gittau, in 1670, there was a church of 
Bohemian Lutherans, consisting of nine hun- 
dred souls. 

3. Neusalz, in Misnia, three leagues from 
Hernhut, was likewise built by the Bohemians, 
and in a little time became a small city. But 
the Bohemians were soon so completely mingled 
with the Germans, that, in the course of time, 
there were to be found only a few old men who 
understood the language of their ancestors. 
According to their regulations, however, the 
pastor was to be a native of Bohemia, and to 
preach his introductory discourse in the Bohe- 
mian tongue. 

4. Gebbardsdorf, on the frontiers of Bohemia, 
near Greiffenberg, in Silesia. 

5. Elzdorf, near Laubau. In 1700, these 
two places had only one Bohemian reader. 

6. In later years several new colonies were 
formed, which in course of time lost their distinct 
existence in the mass of the nations among which 
they settled. (See Crantz.) 

The Lutheran pastor, Schulz, who was in 

M 



122 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 

later years the decided friend of the brethren's 
new church, makes the following remarks on 
these successive emigrations : " It is true that 
there never was, at any one time, an emigration 
from Bohemia and Moravia equal to that which 
took place in 1730, when more than thirty thou- 
sand persons removed into the province of Saltz- 
berg ; the reason is, that the protestants of 
Bohemia and Moravia did not obtain, as those of 
Saltzberg, through the intercession of the protes- 
tant princes, the liberty of going whither they 
would; and it was only the excessive oppression 
they endured, and the voice of conscience, that 
could force them to burst through all the watch- 
ful measures which were taken against them, to 
leave their country and all their possessions, and 
seek religious liberty in the midst of the greatest 
perils. But if we reckon all those who have fled 
from this country, and from Moravia, since 1624, 
either in large or small bodies, their number 
would certainly be twice or thrice as many as 
that of those who emigrated into Saltzberg. 

" Besides," adds the same historian, " these 
poor people, for the most part, fell into the hands 
of bad teachers, who knew not the value of their 
own souls. They have been much congratulated 
on the happiness of having forsaken all to em- 
brace the profession of the gospel, but most of 
them soon became satisfied with leading an out- 
wardly honest and peaceable life, without having 
experienced that change of heart, which is essen- 
tial to a true believer. Their descendants went 
even farther, and conformed to the manners of 
the people among whom they lived. From the 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 123 

time of the brethren of Bohemia up to this period, 
(1720,) we have never heard of a revival of any 
extent among the Bohemians, either those who 
emigrated or those who did not, much less of any 
institution or discipline favourable to the ad- 
vancement of the kingdom of God." 

The reflections of this historian must, however, 
be considered as referring only to the general 
body, and are not to be received without restric- 
tion. We shall soon have to observe some very 
affecting instances of firm attachment to the gos- 
pel, and holiness of life, manifested among some, 
who were concealed during the long and dread- 
ful persecution that raged in Austria. 

Commenius has spoken in very similar terms 
to those of the exiles belonging; to the brethren's 
church, as Schulz employs of the protestants in 
general; namely, that those who, in consequence 
of their faithful adherence to their profession, 
were at first scattered by thousands through the 
adjoining countries, so gave way in the midst of 
the troubles of their exile, or were so much di- 
minished by the long duration of their sufferings, 
that a very small number remained. From that 
time they became confounded with the other pro- 
testant communions, until it was hardly known 
what had become of the brethren, and very few 
of their descendants were acquainted with the 
church to which their ancestors had belonged. 
Afterwards, however, a number of them, both in 
Bohemia and Moravia, and in most of the other 
protestant countries, joined the new church ; 
and we may recognize in their family names their 



124 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN 1548, 



original descent from these countries. Some of 
themselves even, without being able always to 
tell what church they had belonged to, knew 
that their fathers had been compelled to aban- 
don their property and country, for the gospel's 
sake. 

Those who remained in Bohemia were much 
more numerous than those who quitted the 
country. Of these a small number voluntarily 
changed their religion, a ad became the most de- 
termined enemies of their former brethren ; but 
the greater part embraced the doctrines of popery, 
or at least practised the external worship of the 
romish church, although they did it against the 
conviction of their consciences, as they after- 
wards almost all acknowledged, as soon as they 
had an opportunity of expressing their sorrow 
and repentance before some protestant church. 
Many, however, in time became accustomed to 
this dissimulation, and their children, born in the 
midst of popery, w T ere brought up in ignorance. 
Still there were some who preserved, and even 
propagated, though very secretly, the truth of 
the gospel among those around them; and several 
very interesting things relating to this Have come 
to light, since the restoration of the church, al- 
though the brethren have prudently forborne to 
publish them. " I could quote," says Crantz, 
" some oral or written accounts of several bre- 
thren of Bohemia and Moravia, which inform us 
of many edifying circumstances relative to their 
private meetings, the indulgence their minis- 
ters experienced even from some priests, the 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 125 

numerous expedients which they used to satisfy 
their spiritual wants, and the persecutions en- 
dured by those who were discovered ; but I 
have good reasons for passing over all these 
things in silence. " 

We find, from some particulars which have 
reached us on this subject, that several of these 
friends of the gospel went so far as to conceal, 
all their life time, from their wives, children, and 
servants, the retired places, caves, and corners, 
where they kept their bibles and other books of 
devotion, although they never omitted reading 
them privately, or using them for the edification 
of others. Thus we find husbands and fathers 
never discovering to their families the treasure 
they had found in their protestant books, until 
at the time of their death, not being willing to 
leave this world, till they had once at least ex- 
pressed their real faith, and recommended it to 
their friends. Others more favourably situated, 
or less fearful, held secret meetings, in which 
they edified one another in the doctrine of the 
gospel, assembling by night in caverns or other 
private places, hiding themselves to do good, as 
others seek to hide themselves while doing evil ; 
always exposed to the risk of being discovered, 
and encountering the most dreadful dangers, 
often even death itself. 

Such was the state of the protestants of Bo- 
hemia and Moravia, until towards the end of the 
last century ; and such is perhaps the situation of 
many in those parts even now. The Lord probably 
has there, though still under the yoke, more 
m 2 



126 FROM THE PERSECUTION IN ]548, 



than seven thousand who have not bowed the 
knee to Baal. We know, moreover, that bibles, 
in the language of the country, have for some 
years past been introduced among them. 

In closing this part of our history of the 
ancient church of the brethren, we may take a 
general view of its relation to the church of 
God, including in our reflections, that of the Wal- 
denses, which, in antiquity as a protestant 
church, far exceeds the others. It is certain, 
that the christian and protestant churches, 
which have made their appearance since the re- 
formation, ought to recognize these Waldenses 
and brethren of Bohemia as their elder brethren 
in the faith ; they prepared the way for the re- 
formation, and, by their light, the reformers 
themselves were enlightened. Upon this subject 
we have the acknowledgement of Luther, in a 
preface which he wrote for the works of John 
Huss, in which, among other things, he says, 
that before God opened his eyes, he had been 
prejudiced against the brethren ; that he had 
declaimed against them vehemently in his ser- 
mons ; that having found, in the library of the 
convent at Erfurth, the works of John Huss, he 
thought, at first, that this man proved his doc- 
trines in a very solid manner ; but that, not- 
withstanding all this, he felt the greatest repug- 
nance in giving his approval to them, because 
the very name of Huss had become so odious 
and infamous, that he imagined the heavens 
would fall, and the sun would cease to give its 
light before the memory of such a man could be 



TO THE DESTRUCTION IN 1627. 127 



held in esteem ; that for this reason he shut the 
book, although at the same time he withdrew 
from the perusal of it deeply affected . 

It is also evident, that as the Waldenses and 
the brethren prepared the way for the reforma- 
tion, so they rendered some assistance, when it 
commenced, both by their personal conferences 
with Luther, Melancthon, and others of the Sax- 
on reformers, and by their deputations to the 
divines of Strasberg and Switzerland, and epis- 
tolary intercourse with them. It is not less cer- 
tain, that their residence in Poland and Prussia 
must have greatly facilitated the establishment 
and the progress of the reformation in those 
countries. 

If we search in ecclesiastical history for the 
course of those christian societies, which, amidst 
the darkness of superstition, have carefully en- 
deavoured to preserve the doctrine of the gospel 
inviolable, and to conform their life and con- 
duct to it, w T e shall find that the Waldenses 
and the Bohemian brethren have preserved the 
light of the truth more than any other associa- 
tion of christians, even in the midst of the most 
violent persecutions and cruel sufferings. 

These two societies laboured, first separately, 
and then in conjunction, to build upon the same 
foundation, and they experienced the same fate ; 
both were overwhelmed by persecutions, which 
succeeded each other with scarcely any intermis- 
sion, and of which both severely felt the rigour. 
In fine, they, for a long time, faithfully bore the 
peculiar mark of christians. " They that will 
live godly in Christ, must suffer persecution." 



128 



FROM 1548 TO 1627. 



On the other hand they have ever been, and will 
ever be a living proof of the truth of the promise, 
c< That the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
the church and also of the words of Paul, 
" Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, 
in all these things we are more than conquerors 
through Him that hath loved us ! The suffer- 
ings of this present time are not worthy to be 
compared to the glory which shall be revealed 
in us." 



CHAPTER VI. 



ON THE INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE AN- 
CIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN OF BO- 
HEMIA, MORAVIA, AND POLAND. 

The constitution of the ancient church of the 
brethren was formed, together with the churches 
themselves, in 1457, and more definitively settled 
in 1616, by the synod of Zerawitz, which com- 
municated it to all the churches for their adop- 
tion. The following abstract will doubtless be 
interesting to our readers. 

I. The internal classification of every church. 
Each of the churches was divided into three 
classes, according to the degree of spiritual im- 
provement which its members had attained. In 
the first class, or that of beginners, were ranked 
the children of the brethren, and adult converts 
from popery. These were instructed together as 
catechumens. When they sufficiently under- 
stood the ten commandments, the apostles' creed, 
and the Lord's prayer, and expressed a desire to 
become members of the church, they were re- 
ceived into the second class, or the more ad- 
vanced. 

These partook of the Lord's supper, and were 
carefully reminded of the covenant which God 
had made with his church, of which they had 
now become members. 



130 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



The third class, called the perfect, consisted 
of such as had persevered for some time in a 
course of true piety, and faithfully observed the 
discipline and good order of the church. 

II. Of the presbytery or consistory. From 
the brethren of the last class were chosen, in 
every church, by a plurality of votes, the elders, 
from three to eight in number, in proportion to 
the size of the church. The men selected for 
this office were pious, grave, upright, and such 
as were a pattern to their own families in all 
things ; and they always acted in concert with 
the pastor, for whose maintenance it was their 
business to provide, labouring with him at the 
same time for the spiritual improvement of the 
flock. They unitedly devised means for pro- 
moting love among the members of the church, 
preventing every kind of disorder, and correcting 
as soon as possible, without publicity, the evils 
they might discover. Once in three months they 
visited the houses of the brethren, in order to 
observe the conduct of each member of the 
family ; to ascertain whether every one was la- 
bouring diligently in his calling ; whether those 
who were in trade conducted their affairs aright ; 
whether family worship was kept up ; whether 
such as filled public stations acquitted themselves 
faithfully, &c. Of all these things they made a 
report to the pastor. 

They assisted the poor with money contributed 
by the members of the church, and deposited in 
a box for that purpose. This was in addition to 
the general collections on festivals and fast days, 
and at the Lord's supper. Brethren appointed 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 131 

for the purpose kept the account of this money. 
Four times in the year they made other collec- 
tions, to defray the expenses of the worship of 
God, and the maintenance of poor ministers, or 
for persons banished for the sake of the gospel. 
Every year they gave an account to the church 
of the receipts and expenditure. The elders also 
visited the sick, and gave them exhortations and 
advice, particularly applicable to their circum- 
stances. 

The women also had among them female 
elders, who, as mothers in the house of God, 
watched over the widows, married women, and 
younger females, exhorting them to peace and 
purity. 

III. Various regulations for the conduct of in- 
dividuals and families. It was expected of all 
fathers, and mothers of families, that they should 
be, in their houses, examples of the christian life. 
It was the duty of the fathers to preside over the 
domestic worship ; to read the word of God ; to 
sing psalms, and pray regularly in their houses, 
morning, noon, and night. After the public 
services they were to converse with their chil- 
dren and servants on what they had heard and 
experienced at church. 

Fathers were enjoined to forbid their families 
from frequenting ale-houses, also all idleness, 
and every species of gaming ; and to stay at 
home, especially during the night, in order to 
watch over their houses. They were not to suffer 
any worldly amusements, as games or dancing; 
nor to allow any costly or unbecoming garments 
to be worn ; and they were particularly directed 



132 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OP THE 

to prevent all clandestine intercourse between 
the sexes. None were allowed to engage in law- 
suits,, without first endeavouring to settle their 
differences by brotherly arbitration. 

No person belonging to one church, was al- 
lowed to put himself under the care of the pastor 
of another, without sufficient reasons ; and no 
pastor received into his church a member of 
another, without a recommendation from the 
pastor of the church he left. It was, therefore, 
the custom of those who quitted any place, either 
for a longer or shorter period, to send notice 
to the pastor, recommending themselves to the 
prayers of the brethren. 

They never forgot to remind nobles, as well 
as private citizens, of the duties of their stations; 
admonishing them that they were merely stewards 
of their wealth, and that what they had acquired 
by the toil and labour of their vassals, they ought 
to employ for the glory of God. 

IV. Of the officers of the church. Every 
church had a pastor, who had deacons and aco- 
lythes under him. Over the whole collective 
church were established church- elders, seniors, or 
bishops, who were assisted by other elders, called 
co-seniors or co-bishops. 

1. The pastors. Their office was to preach 
the word, to admit persons into the church, or to 
exclude from it ; and to administer baptism and 
the Lord's supper. At first, when they had no 
seminaries for the instruction of young men, 
they did not require either the knowledge of 
languages or human science ; but when the bre- 
thren perceived any man well instructed in the 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 133 



great doctrines of the gospel, apt to teach, sober, 
intelligent, uniting in himself the qualities re- 
quired by the word of God for a minister of 
Christ, they acknowledged him as sent of God. 
After the reformation, however, they sent the 
young men designed for the ministry to the 
German universities, or those which were after- 
wards established among themselves, to study 
the ancient languages and theology. Never- 
theless, a large proportion of the candidates for 
the sacred office were instructed by some pastor, 
with whom they resided for that purpose ; for 
the brethren set more value on piety, christian 
conduct, and the knowledge of divine truth, than 
upon any human learning. 

The pastors were nominated and appointed 
by the bishops, who carefully sought out for 
every church the most suitable person they could 
find. Upon this nomination he repaired with 
confidence to his post, where he was always re- 
ceived with cordiality. 

In ordinary cases the pastor had full spiritual 
authority over all ; it was only on difficult and 
unforeseen occasions that he had recourse to 
the bishop of his diocese. Every pastor was 
bound to give a report to the bishop, every six 
months, of his own spiritual state, and of that 
of his church. 

If any pastor was accused, or suspected of any 
impropriety of conduct, the bishop reproved him. 
Grave matters were carried to the synod ; and 
an obstinate refusal to submit to admonition 
was followed by degradation, or even exclusion 

N 



134 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 

from the church. Cases of this kind, however, 
rarely occurred. 

The brethren consulted their pastors even in 
the management of their temporal affairs, and, 
in most instances, found the advantage of it. 
The pastors visited the brethren at their own 
houses for spiritual purposes, and were always 
received with love and respect. When they 
came in the morning or evening, they presided 
at family worship. They were not forward in 
accepting invitations from the rich ; when they 
did so, they were careful to observe the rules of 
temperance, and to retire immediately after sing- 
ing and prayer. 

The pastors were supported by the voluntary 
contributions of the members of their church, 
who were always ready to supply them, one 
with bread, another with meat, another with 
beer, &c. They considered themselves limited 
to mere necessaries ; nor did they scruple to 
labour with their own hands, when their spiritual 
duties allowed them time. 

Though thev had no law of celibacy among 
them, most of their pastors led a single life. 
Exposed to so many dangers by persecution, a 
wife and children would have been a burden to 
them, as the apostle Paul says, 1 Cor. vii. 26. 
They nevertheless acknowledged that particular 
circumstances might render it proper for a man 
to marry; and he had the power to do so, pro- 
vided it was with the consent of the bishops, 
whose care it was that his wife should be one 
whose conduct was honourable to her profession. 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 135 

There were also some young women who devoted 
themselves to the Lord in a life of celibacy, em- 
ploying their time in the instruction of the fe- 
male children, or giving themselves up to the 
service of the elders. 

2. The deacons. The deacons were the chief 
assistants of the pastors, and were considered 
and treated as candidates for the ministry. 
They accustomed themselves, by degrees, to the 
ministry. They often repaired on the Lord's 
day, accompanied by one of the acolythes, to 
the neighbouring villages to preach the gospel. 
The pastor examined them beforehand on their 
intended discourse to the people, and gave them 
all necessary instructions. The deacons some- 
times baptized, under the direction of the pastor ; 
and they usually instructed the children and 
catechumens. 

On Lord's day afternoons they repeated to 
the servants the substance of the morning's ser- 
mon, adding some simple and familiar explana- 
tions relating to the duties of ordinary life. 
They assisted also at the meetings of the elders, 
in order to accustom themselves by degrees to the 
business of the church, and they helped to sup- 
port the pastor by labouring with their ow r n hands. 

3. The acolythes. Each of the pastors 
boarded in his house two or three young lads of 
respectable parents, in order to train them for 
the service of the church, These, after they 
had acquired the first elements of instruction, 
read the catechism, the New Testament, the 
psalms and hymns, and other publications of 



136 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



the brethren, which were thus imprinted on their 
memories. After this, the most intelligent among 
them commenced the study of divinity. 

At the end of a few years, these young people 
were received by the synod into the number of 
the acolythes ; and on this occasion the bishops 
commonly gave them a new name, which had 
some relation to their character. 

It was the duty of the acolythes to assist the 
pastors in their domestic concerns. They were 
enjoined a faithful obedience to their superiors, 
whom they often accompanied on their journeys. 

The elder acolythes conducted family worship, 
read the daily text of scripture, which they were 
sometimes asked to expound in order to exercise 
them in speaking with freedom. They also took 
part in the public religious instruction of the 
children, and were sometimes called upon to 
deliver an exhortation at some of the private 
meetings of the brethren. 

4. The pastor s house. The deacons, aco 
lythes, and young people under the pastor's 
care, were obliged strictly to conform to the 
established order of the house, that they might 
learn obedience before they were called to go- 
vern others. 

They had fixed times for every thing. They 
all arose in the morning at the sound of a bell, 
and after prayer they attended to reading 
and meditation on the sacred scriptures. An 
hour afterwards a fresh signal assembled the 
whole family. After the singing of a psalm or 
hymn, the pastor, or some other person, read a 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. F37 



portion of scripture, and added a few suitable 
reflections. 

After prayer every one returned to his work, 
or occupied himself in study. The interval from 
the afternoon until evening was employed, as 
the time least favourable to study, in some 
mechanical labour, unless any of the pupils had 
the charge of instructing the youth of the place. 
The others wrought at weaving, tailoring, gar- 
dening, &c. These labours were interrupted at 
two o'clock, to attend to family worship. After 
the evening repast, they exercised themselves in 
music, singing psalms, &c. ; and the day was 
closed with prayer. No one was allowed to sit 
up during the night, much less to go out after 
the porter had closed the doors. 

During dinner and supper, the pupils recited 
what they had learned by heart, either proverbs, 
or portions of scripture, or hymns. A theologi- 
cal question was sometimes proposed, on which 
every one gave his opinion, beginning with the 
youngest, the pastor closing the discussion. 

The different branches of household work were 
divided among all the«pupils, acolythes, and dea- 
cons, that every one might be accustomed to all 
kinds of labour, and be able to earn his bread. 
The younger ones were occupied in cleaning and 
laying out the tables, sweeping the rooms, &c; 
the elder in the care of the cellar, the granary, 
the garden, the library, the clock, &c. No one 
was permitted, without the pastor's leave, to go 
out to buy any thing, to send letters of any im- 
portance, to lend or borrow, or to enter into 
any kind of contract. 

n 2 



138 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



The pastors themselves, who never took a 
journey but in cases of absolute necessity, could 
not do so without the permission of the bishop. 
In travelling, they lodged wherever they could, 
among the brethren, who received them with true 
hospitality. In such cases, all the members of 
the family in succession saluted the traveller, 
giving him the right-hand of fellowship, and in- 
quiring into the welfare of his church. The 
acolythes washed his feet, and took care of his 
horse and baggage. If he were poor, they did 
not let him go without making him some pre- 
sent, a coat, a knife, or money. The visiting 
minister gave a short exhortation at family wor- 
ship, and preached a sermon to the church. 

5. Of the bishops. A bishop had to watch 
over the other servants of the church, and the 
whole of its spiritual interests. He was nomi- 
nated by the ministers. None but men held in 
general respect for their age, manners, and good 
qualities, were chosen to this office. Yet the 
direction of the whole church was not committed 
to one alone, but confided to four or five who 
were equal in rank. This was settled at a synod, 
held in 1500, after the death of Matthias Kune- 
wald ; and, by such an arrangement, the brethren 
hoped to steer clear of the dangers of spiritual 
despotism, of which they had seen so dreadful an 
example in the romish church. 

Every bishop was established over a certain 
number of churches : two were commonly ap- 
pointed for Bohemia ; two for Moravia ; and one, 
or sometimes two, for Poland. The superiority 
of the bishop did not consist in greater honour. 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 139 



or higher salary, but in a greater measure of 
labour and trouble, according to the words of 
the Lord Jesus, " Whosoever will be great 
among you, let him be your minister; and who- 
soever will be chief among you, let him be your 
servant," Matt. xix. 26, 27. All the bishops 
possessed equal power, although, for the sake of 
order, one of them was president. 

They were elected for life, unless they failed 
in discharging the duties of their office ; but 
this has never once happened during the exist- 
ence of the unity, a period of three hundred 
years ; and of fifty-five bishops who have pre^ 
sided over it in that period, not more than six 
or seven have ever requested their dismission on 
account of illness. 

Every bishop was bound to refer all important 
matters to the judgment of his colleagues, and 
this union of bishops formed the ecclesiastical 
council. From it there was an appeal to a ge- 
neral synod, which passed sentence definitively. 

The bishops had the power of appointing the 
pastors to their stations, of removing them when 
they thought fit, and of ordaining the acolythes, 
deacons, and ministers. 

It was the duty of the bishop to visit his dio- 
cese once a year, in order to ascertain exactly 
the state of the churches under his care. 

6. The president. One of the bishops held 
this rank. He called his colleagues together, 
whenever he judged it necessary, and presided 
at all their meetings. 

7. The secretary. This office belonged to. 



140 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



one of the bishops, whose duty it was to register 
the different proceedings of the unity, and the 
books published by it. When any work against 
the brethren appeared, he made it known to the 
ecclesiastical council, and if they thought fit, 
he compiled an answer, and submitted it to 
them. In general, the brethren were not for- 
ward to answer their opponents ; w r hen they did 
so, particularly if the magistrates were con- 
cerned, it w 7 as done with calmness and simplicity. 
All the publications of the brethren were issued, 
according to their custom, in the name of the 
whole church. 

8. The co-bishops. Every bishop had two or 
three co-bishops, who had seats in the ecclesi- 
astical council, under an obligation to keep 
secret all its deliberations. They assisted, and, 
if necessary, supplied the places of the bishops. 
They conducted the preparatory examinations 
of the acolythes and deacons, and then pre- 
sented them to the bishops, with suitable testi- 
monials. 

V. The synods. These were general or spe- 
cial. General synods were held every three or 
four years, and consisted of the bishops with 
their co-bishops, the pastors, deacons, and aco- 
lythes, and commonly the landed proprietors of 
the place or surrounding country ; so that at 
these meetings several hundred persons some- 
times attended. 

The design of the brethren, in these associa- 
tions, was to cement brotherly love, to exhort one 
another to faithfulness in the work of the Lord, 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 141 



to ordain their ministers and deacons, and to 
consult generally on the common interests of 
the unity. 

The bishops, with their co-bishops, assembled 
the previous evening. After fervent prayer, the 
president intreated them to examine carefully, 
if there was any thing that would hinder them 
from deliberating on the interests of the church 
with a pure heart and true charity ; reminding 
them that they were commanded to purge oat 
the old leaven,. that might be found in the house 
of God, whether in themselves or in their bre- 
thren. He then retired with the bishops, and 
exhorted them also to settle any differences that 
might exist among them, and remove every occa- 
sion of discord, that they might engage them- 
selves in the work of the Lord with unburdened 
minds. It was not till they had satisfactorily 
adjusted every thing among themselves, and thus 
confirmed their mutual love, that they proceeded 
to the business of the synod. 

On these occasions the bishops were lodged 
at the pastor's house, the other members of the 
synod with pious friends in the place. Every 
thing necessary for their accommodation was 
provided by the deacons and acolythes ; one 
waiting at table, and others respectively per- 
forming different duties. In the evening of the 
first day they assembled in the church, when the 
bishops welcomed the members of the synod, 
and returned thanks to God for having brought 
them together in safety. 

At their meals each one took the place assigned 
to him at one of the tables ; in winter, these 



142 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



were laid out in a large dining-room, and in the 
summer in the open air. The repast was enli- 
vened by cheerful and pious conversation. One 
of the bishops, or their colleagues, delivered a 
discourse every morning while the synod lasted ; 
and, in the afternoon and evening, one of them 
exhorted and prayed. 

The pastors having assembled, chose from 
among themselves, a president and secretary ; 
and having received from the bishops a list of 
the subjects that were to occupy their attention, 
the president proposed them to the assembly in 
succession. Each gave his opinion, beginning 
with the youngest ; no one ever interrupted an- 
other ; the secretary noted the opinion of each, 
and his reasons; and the president endeavoured 
to reduce the v/hole to one unanimous result. 
If the opinions were discordant, they discussed 
them again till they all agreed ; entire unani- 
mity being considered essential to their proceed- 
ings. 

The bishops and their colleagues then deli- 
berated upon the opinions of the pastors ; they 
also conferred upon such propositions as were 
submitted to them by the lay brethren. But 
they never adopted any important resolution, or 
concluded any thing without the consent of the 
pastors. 

The appointments and ordinations, of which 
we have already spoken, took place also in the 
synods. At these the bishops reminded the dif- 
ferent servants of the church of their respec- 
tive duties, especially charging them to avoid 
worldly-mindedness and avarice ; to refuse flat- 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 14-3 

tering titles, and to beware of levity, and of 
needless associations with the ungodly. 

At the conclusion of the sitting, one of the 
bishops delivered an exhortation, relative to the 
subjects that had been discussed; then one of 
the pastors rose and returned thanks, in the 
name of the whole body, first to God, for the 
blessings he had bestowed, and then to the 
bishops, for their care of the church; their ex- 
hortations and other proofs of their love, and 
the celebration of the Lord's supper closed the 
whole. 

All the transactions of the synod were com- 
mitted to writing, and every bishop had a copy. 
No one could deviate from the resolutions which 
had been adopted, without consulting the eccle- 
siastical council, which yet could authorize no 
essential alteration without the individual con- 
sent of all the pastors. When any thing unex- 
pected occurred, which they could not reserve 
for the next synod, or which related to some 
affair that concerned one diocese only, they 
convened special or diocesan synods. The re- 
solutions passed at these meetings were, however, 
communicated to the absent bishops. 

VI. Of ordinations. — 1. Of the acolythes. 
Those of the pastors' pupils, who were considered 
eligible, were admitted into this lowest office in 
the church, after being examined. On this oc- 
casion a discourse was commonly delivered on 
the calling of the seventy disciples, or that of 
the sons of the prophets, or on the imitation of 
Christ. Each of the candidates was then asked , 
before the whole synod, if he wished to devote 



144 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



himself to the service of the church, and to obey 
its ministers. 

The particular duties of their office were then 
enumerated, which they promised to observe ; 
the elder acolythes gave them the right hand of 
fellowship, and the meeting was closed with 
prayer. 

2. Of deacons. The deacons were taken 
from among the most advanced acolythes. After 
some of the forms we have already noticed, one 
of the bishops prayed, and ordained them with 
the laying on of hands. 

3. Of ministers. When the pastor was about 
to present to the synod one or more of the dea- 
cons, who wished to devote themselves to the mi- 
nistry, he notified it to the elders of the church, 
requesting a written attestation of the conduct 
and gifts of the candidates. At the synod they 
underwent a threefold examination ; the first 
before the assembled pastors, who gave their 
judgment in writing, and sent it to the bishops. 
The second examination took place before the 
co-bishops ; after that, every one who was ap- 
proved w T as sent alone to one of the bishops, who 
occupied himself chiefly in examining into the 
spiritual state of the candidate. He represented 
to him the importance of the sacred ministry; 
and asked him if he offered himself to Christ 
with a pure conscience, and without any respect 
to honour, gain, or any kind of temporal ad- 
vantage. These appeals to the conscience were 
so powerful, that cases have been known of can- 
didates requesting that their ordination might be 
deferred till they were better fitted for the office. 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 145 



The day after the last examination they pro- 
ceeded to the ordination, for which all pre- 
pared themselves by fasting' and prayer. The 
service commenced by singing a hymn ; then 
a discourse followed on the calling of a mi- 
nister of Christ. The candidates w T ere then 
presented by two of the co-bishops to the bi- 
shop, with the following address : " Reverend 
brother and bishop, we entreat thee, in the 
name of the church, to confer on these men, 
who now present themselves before Christ and 
before thee, the office of messengers of Christ, 
and the authority of pastors, ordaining them 
according to the established order, and the power 
bestowed upon thee by Christ and the church." 

On this the bishop said, " Are these men 
qualified and worthy to take upon them this 
sacred calling? Are they endowed with the 
gifts which should adorn the messengers of 
Christ ?" To which one of the co-bishops re- 
plied, " They have received of the Lord the 
needful gifts ; they have been well instructed 
from their youth ; they have conducted them- 
selves irreproachably ; and, having examined 
them, we have found them sound in faith and 
doctrine, sincere in their desire to serve Christ 
and his church, and possessing the testimony of 
a good conscience." The bishop rejoined, " We 
receive this testimony, and in the name of God 
grant your request." 

The candidates then solemnly engaged, before 
God and the church, faithfully to discharge the 
duties of their office ; on which the bishop said 
" Beloved friends and brethren, in order that 
o 



145 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



you may have an unshaken confidence in the 
assistance of the Lord, hear how our Eternal 
High Priest, Jesus Christ, prays for you, who, 
when he was on the point of consecrating him- 
self as a victim for the sins of the world, earn- 
estly commended to his Father all those who 
should preach his gospel to the. nations." Ano- 
ther bishop then read the intercessory prayer of 
Jesus, in the 17th chapter of John. 

At the ordination, ail the bishops united in 
the imposition of hands, calling upon the Lord 
Jesus, the Great Head of the church, to receive 
the candidates into the number of his faithful 
servants, and to replenish them with the gifts of 
his Spirit. During the whole time the assembly 
were on their knees, chaunting the hymn, 
" Come, Holy Spirit," &c. After they had 
risen, the officiating bishop again addressed a 
few words of exhortation to the new ministers, 
reminding them of the eternal reward of fidelity. 
The whole church responded the " Amen/' and 
the meeting closed with the Lord's supper. 

4. Of co-bishops. When places in the ecclesi- 
astical council became vacant, the co-bishops 
and pastors wrote on slips of paper the names of 
those whom they conscientiously thought most 
suitable to fill the posts of the deceased or re- 
tired brethren, and these slips of paper were 
sent sealed to the bishops. A plurality of votes 
decided the election, and the ordination was 
conducted at a synod with the imposition of 
hands. 

5. Of bishops. For the purpose of choosing 
a new bishop, a special synod was convened. 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 147 

The first day was devoted to fasting and prayer ; 
then a sermon was preached, in which the qua- 
lifications of a bishop, according to the scrip- 
tures, were enumerated. After this meeting the 
co-bishops and pastors wrote their votes on 
paper and sealed them up, without any previous 
understanding with each other. The bishops 
did not open these notes till they were alone, 
convinced that he who had the greatest number 
of votes was the man whom the Lord had 
chosen. They did not, however, declare on 
whom the choice had fallen till the next day. 
The officiating bishop then came forward, and 
declared, that the Lord had heard the prayers of 
his children, and had pointed out the man of his 
choice. Another bishop then arose, named the 
person just elected, and called upon him to ap- 
pear. He was then asked if he regarded the 
call as Divine, and if he accepted it. In the 
latter case, he was reminded of the duties of his 
new situation ; and, on his engaging to fulfil 
them, the whole assembly fell on their knees, to 
beg of God to bestow his grace upon him ; 
after which the bishops laid their hands on him, 
the assembly, on their knees, chaunting " Come, 
Holy Spirit," &c. The colleagues of the new 
bishop gave him the right hand of fellowship 
and the kiss of charity. The co-bishops and 
other ministers promised obedience to him, and 
the whole finished with singing and mutual con- 
gratulations. 

VII. Modes of worship, and ceremonies. — 
1 . Preaching, This, in the opinion of the brethren, 



143 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



was the most important part of the pastor's 
duties. They had preaching- not only on Lord's 
days and festivals, but during the week, as often 
as funerals, marriages, or other family and public 
events afforded them opportunity. On the Lord's 
day, which was entirely devoted to worship, 
they had four meetings, two in the forenoon, and 
two in the afternoon. In the first, they ex- 
pounded a part of the prophetic scriptures : at 
the second, which was the principal meeting:, 
they explained a text taken from the gospels : 
in the third, they treated on a portion of the 
epistles : and in the evening, they read the scrip- 
tures in course, making a few instructive re- 
marks on what was read. 

At these different meetings the preacher com- 
monly insisted on the doctrine which was to form 
the subject of meditation for the ensuing week. 
For, in order to preserve uniformity of teaching-, 
they allotted to the different Lord's days in the 
year the principal points of the christian religion; 
so that all were gone through in the course 
of the year. After the morning service, and 
that in the afternoon, the young people of both 
sexes, from fifteen to twenty-five years old, re- 
mained to be examined by the pastor, on the 
manner in which they had heard the word. 

Their preaching was very simple, not accord- 
ing to human wisdom, but according to the word 
of God, and therefore well adapted to make 
every one of their hearers a devoted follower 
of Christ Jesus. They endeavoured very closely 
to apply the word of truth to the different 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. .149 



classes of their hearers: to the noviciates, the 
more advanced, and the perfect; to the single 
and the married. 

The brethren had a book of hymns of their 
own, several editions of which have been pub- 
lished, and from these the Lutheran church, and 
in later times the brethren's new 7 church, bor- 
rowed rather largely. They always have been 
very fond of singing in devotional worship. 

2. Baptism. Some of the brethren baptized 
only believing adults ; but the ruling portion of 
the church retained the baptism of infants. Spon- 
sors were admitted, whose engagement w r as con- 
sidered very solemn : they promised to watch 
tfver the children in concert with the parents, 
and to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. 

3. The reception of catechumens, and their 
admission to the communion. When persons 
belonging to any other communion applied for 
admission into the brethren's church, they first 
asked them their reasons for so doing, and 
whether they were satisfied of the utility of its 
particular constitution. On receiving a suitable 
answer they proceeded to admit them, not pub- 
licly, but in the presence of the elders of the 
church. 

The children of the brethren were admitted 
publicly in the following manner. The words 
of Christ were first read, " Come unto me all ye 
that labour," &c. then the young people of both 
sexes, who were about to be received, and who 
had been several times previously examined by 
the pastor, came forward into the middle of the 
church. They w r ere asked if thev were willing 
o 2 



150 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



to enter into the covenant which their parents or 
sponsors had contracted in their name at their 
baptism. They then repeated the apostle's 
creed, and declared their determination to re- 
nounce the devil, the world, and the flesh, to 
put off the old man with his lusts, and to give 
themselves up to Christ, to serve him in this 
world, in temperance, righteousness, and godli- 
ness. After this the pastor received them into 
the church, by prayer and the imposition of 
hands. 

4. The Lord's supper. The brethren com- 
monly celebrated the Lord's supper four times 
in the year, preferring the four great festivals 
for this purpose, but they often also attended tof 
it at other suitable times. The pastor gave 
notice two or three weeks beforehand, that 
all might be fitly prepared, and invited his 
hearers to come and converse with him on the 
state of their souls. Every father of a family 
came to present himself with all his household 
before the pastor, in order that the conduct of 
every member of the family might be examined ; 
whether they attended constantly on public and 
family worship, what good they had derived 
from it, whether every one was fulfilling his 
duty towards others, &c. Then, as circum- 
stances required, the pastor gave them counsel 
or reproof, encouraged, exhorted, advised, or 
dissuaded them from coming to the supper. 

After an exhortation to seek the nourishment, 
which is treasured up in Jesus Christ for true 
believers, accompanied with a general confes- 
sion of sin, and a declaration of full forgiveness 



ANCIENT CHU CH OF THE BRETHREN. 151 

through the Saviour, they proceeded to the cele- 
bration of the supper. The pastor, robed in a 
white gown, read the words of the institution, 
broke the bread, and took the cup, calling upon 
all present to observe these outward symbols 
of the body and blood of Christ, who was sacri- 
ficed on the cross for our redemption. The 
communicants then approached the table, pre- 
ceded by the servants of the church, the civil 
magistrates of the place, and the elders. They 
came forward according to their age, the men 
first, and afterwards the women. They com- 
monly partook of the Lord's supper kneeling, 
for, having once commenced receiving it stand- 
ing, they had thereby drawn upon themselves a 
violent persecution. They also thought kneeling 
more expressive of that adoration and humility, 
which should penetrate the heart of a christian 
while engaged in this service. During the whole 
time the members of the church were engaged 
in singing the praises of the Lord, in prayer and 
thanksgiving, on their knees. 

5. Marriage. They never married without 
taking the advice of their parents and the pastor; 
clandestine promises of marriage were absolutely 
forbidden, and consequently considered unbe- 
coming. Marriage was celebrated in public. 
The pastor read a text, on which he made a few 
remarks, and the betrothed parties advancing, 
pledged themselves to constancy and fidelity. 
The pastor then joined their hands, pronouncing 
the words of Jesus, " What God hath joined 
together, let not man put asunder, " and closed 
with a prayer. 



152 



INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



6. Visitation of the sick, and funerals. The 
sick were accustomed always to commend them- 
selves to the prayers of the church. When 
they desired it, the Lord's supper was adminis- 
tered to them at their own houses, but in this 
case some brethren or sisters united, that there 
might always be a communion, as this ordinance 
imports. 

At funerals, the pastor accompanied the corpse 
of the deceased to the burial place, with the 
singing of hymns, and, on its arrival, delivered 
a discourse. 

7. The Lord's days and festivals. The brethren 
always entertained the greatest reverence for the 
Lord's day, regarding the observance of it a law 
which the will of God has continued in his church 
through all dispensations. They observed a 
strict rest on this day, according to the letter of 
the law, and abstained from all carnal work and 
improper use of their time. 

Besides the Lord's day, they observed the 
great festivals in commemoration of the principal 
events in the life of Jesus Christ; they kept 
some other days also in memory of the apostles 
and some of the martyrs, to animate themselves 
by the edifying recollection of their constancy 
and faith. But on these last festivals every one 
returned to his work when the religious service 
was over. 

8. Days of fasting and prayer. The bre- 
thren kept four of these in the year, during 
which they abstained from food wholly, or at 
least till the evening. These days were par- 
ticularly devoted to prayer. They also set apart 



ANClEXT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 153 



days of fasting on extraordinary occasions, on 
account of public calamities, or under the private 
troubles of the church ; and even on the behalf of 
some hardened offender, who had been excluded, 
and whom they did not reject without wrestling 
with God for him, seeking to bring him back to 
the Lord, and to save his soul. 

VIII. Visitation of the church. Each of the 
bishops was bound to visit the churches in his 
diocese at least once a year. He carefully ex- 
amined the spiritual state and conduct of the 
pastor, and of all his parishioners, and more 
particularly of the inmates of his house, and of 
the deacons, acolythes, and elders of both 
sexes. 

At these visits new preachers were appointed, 
and the bishops preached, exhorting the pastor 
and flock to increasing fidelity. 

IX. Of discipline, properly so called ; that 
is, the admonitions and punishments of the 
church. There were three degrees of discipline 
observed : the private admonition, the public 
reproof, and exclusion. 

1. Brotherly admonition. The brethren and 
sisters were recommended to exhort and reprove 
one another in brotherly love, when they per- 
ceived faults in any one. If the private admo- 
nition were not well received, they called upon 
one of the elders, or the pastor, who generally 
succeeded, through the esteem in which they 
were held by the brethren, in restoring those 
who had erred. 

2. Public reproof. If, however, the first mea- 
sures were unsuccessful, the offending brother 



154 INTERNAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 



was summoned before the assembled elders, and 
if he did not attend to their admonitions, he 
was suspended from the Lord's supper until he 
repented. 

If the offence was heinous, and of a public 
nature, the pastor and elders called him before 
them to convince him of his error. They re- 
quired him to make public reparation for the 
offence before the church, and to conduct him- 
self as a true penitent till the next communion, 
or even longer. If the offence was not public, 
it was deemed sufficient for the offending brother 
to confess his fault before the consistory. 

3. Exclusion from the church. If any one 
despised the above mentioned preliminary admo- 
nitions, and suffered himself to be farther drawn 
into sin, he was excluded. Bat the pastor could 
not act alone in this matter. He reported it to 
the bishops, with a statement of the circum- 
stances, and waited for their decision. 

When an exclusion could not be avoided, the 
offender was summoned before the church ; and 
it was declared to him, in the name of the Fathei , 
Son, and Holy Spirit, that his sin was retained 
and that he had excluded himself from the church 
of God. The whole church confirmed the sen- 
tence by its M Amen," always accompanying it 
with many tears and groans. Upon which one of 
the deacons or elders led the excommunicated 
person out of the place ; the church still entreat- 
ing the Lord that he would not suffer the stray- 
ed sheep to perish, but bring him back into the 
fold of Christ. 

They by no means deprived the excluded per- 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN. 155 



son of all hope of return ; on the contrary, they 
kept an open door for the sincere penitent. They 
permitted him to attend on the public preaching 
at the door of the church ; and when they per- 
ceived him sincerely returning to a christian 
course, they received him with the greatest joy 
and love. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FROM THE EXTINCTION OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH 
TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW; AND 
THE FOUNDATION OF HERRNHUT, 1627 — 1722. 

We are now entering upon a new series of the 
wonders of God's conduct towards the church of 
the United Brethren. The beautiful stream, the 
course of which we have been observing for nearly 
two centuries, and which has seemed, at least 
for a hundred years, to have almost disappeared, 
is now about to spring up again and to flow more 
abundantly than before. The events we are 
about to relate, including a period of twenty 
or thirty years, constitute one of the brightest 
eras. 

The venerable Commenius never ceased to 
cherish the hope, that the Lord would raise up 
the church of the brethren from its ruins. It is 
true, that some time after the death of this faith- 
ful witness, in 1671, "they thought no more in 
distant countries of the brethren of Bohemia or 
Moravia, than they would have done of one that 
had been dead but still there remained in 
these kingdoms many germs of the knowledge 
of the gospel, which began to shoot forth with 
surprising rapidity at the commencement of the 
eighteenth century. 



HISTORY FROM A.D. 1627—1722. 157 



In the year 1715 a great revival commenced, 
both at Fulneck, in Moravia, and in the princi- 
palities of Leutermischel and Landscrone, in Bo- 
hemia, especially at Litiz. This two-fold revival 
was the more remarkable, as nothing was known 
in either of these places of what was going on at 
the other. We shall confine our narrative at 
present to the revival that took place in Moravia, 
from which the restoration of the brethren's church 
took rise ; and shall only allude to that of Bo- 
hemia, as far as it may be connected with the 
history of the brethren in the former country. 

Many of the brethren were still to be found at 
Fulneck, the ancient parish of Commenius, and 
in the surrounding villages. They were, it is 
true, obliged outwardly to conform to the romish 
worship, but they still retained among them the 
scriptures, their hymn-books, and other religious 
publications. They also held meetings every 
morning and evening, especially on the Lord's 
days, of which the magistrates were not ignorant, 
and on account of which they were often called 
to endure fresh persecutions. But although their 
enemies continually endeavoured to take away 
their books, and to deprive them of the means of 
maintaining protestant worship, they did not 
cease to serve the Lord faithfully in the midst of 
their families, according to the regulations of 
their church ; and they secretly met to partake 
of the Lord's supper among themselves. 

After the expulsion of Commenius, some of 
the brethren's preachers fled from Skalitz to 
Zauchtenthal, where they held meetings, and 
where the knowledge of the gospel was for a long 
p 



158 EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 



time maintained among them. Of those who 
held these meetings, we particularly notice Mar- 
tin Schneider, whom the historians of that time 
distinguished by the name of patriarch, and some 
of whose descendants are still to be found in the 
present church. He instructed the youth in 
reading, writing, and the catechism of Comme- 
nius. But his proceedings excited the attention of 
his enemies ; he was summoned before the magis- 
trates, was several times imprisoned, and would 
have been condemned to the flames, if some of 
his roman catholic employers, who valued him 
much, had not interceded on his behalf. 

After his death, the meetings were held in the 
house of his cousin, Samuel Schneider, who was 
also on the point of suffering martyrdom, and 
only escaped by a kind of miracle. He did not, 
however, cease to preach the gospel until his 
death, which took place in 1710. His dying 
moments were joyful, his heart bounded with de- 
light at the thought of soon being with the Lord : 
" There/' said he, " I shall see his dear apostles, 
his prophets, all the martyrs for the name of 
Christ, and the whole cloud of confessors and 
witnesses, who loved not their lives unto death, 
and I shall be with the Lord for ever." The 
romish priest of the place w r ent to him to ad- 
minister extreme unction, but Samuel replied, 
" I am already anointed and sealed with the 
Holy Spirit to life eternal ; the unction you 
would bestow, would be of no use to me." The 
priest asked him, if he thought he could die in 
safety without extreme unction. Schneider, 
pointing with his finger to the sun, replied, u As 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627 — 1722. 159 

certainly, sir, as you see yon sun shining in the 
heavens, so surely shall I be saved.'' On which 
the priest added, " Well, well, Schneider ; but 
tell me, they accuse you of not being a good ca- 
tholic, and of paying no respect to the saints V* 
He replied, " People have said a great deal of 
evil of me, and done me much harm without 
cause ; but I have endeavoured, during the whole 
course of my life, to walk in the footsteps of the 
saints, and to imitate their conduct." The priest 
then gave up the conversation, and went away, 
saying to those who were present, " Let me die 
the death of the righteous." 

Among the faithful witnesses of this time, was 
George Joeschke, of Schlen. He was a true de- 
scendant of the brethren of Bohemia, and one 
of those pious men with whom the persecuted 
saints found shelter in times of tribulation. He 
maintained an intimate correspondence with the 
brethren of Fulneck, and its neighbourhood. 
They were accustomed to meet by turns in each 
of the adjacent places, to converse, in the sad- 
ness of their hearts and w T ith many prayers and 
tears, on the doctrine of salvation, the state of 
the brethren, the numerous declensions among 
them, and the oppression under which the faith- 
ful still groaned. The number of families in 
which they could thus confide was daily dimi- 
nishing; as the brethren were continually becom- 
ing more mixed with the romanists by marriages, 
and incessant efforts were made on the part of 
the government, to lessen their number, espe- 
cially in those places, which, like Schlen, were 
under the domination of the Jesuits. 



160 



EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 



George Joeschke particularly interested him- 
self about five brothers of the name of Neisser, 
his nephews, whom we mention here, because in 
the sequel it will appear that his labours were 
not in vain ; these five brothers became the first 
fruits of the church at its revival. He taught 
them faithfully the way of. salvation, recom- 
mended them to read the holy scriptures dili- 
gently, with the writings of the brethren, and of 
Luther ; and urged the necessity of an experi- 
mental knowledge of the great doctrine of re- 
demption through Jesus Christ. 

He had a son at a very advanced age, to whom 
he was most tenderly attached. In 1707, he 
found himself approaching his end, and being 
desirous of bestowing his last blessing upon this 
child, and upon his nephews, he assembled them 
around his bed, and once more solemnly exhorted 
them to be faithful to Jesus until death, assur- 
ing them, that if they cleaved to the Lord with 
purpose of heart, they should see a great deliver- 
ance. Perceiving the necessity of their emigra- 
tion from Moravia, he affectionately commended 
his child to the care of the Neissers, and entreat- 
ed them to take him with them when they left 
the country. Shortly afterwards, he entered into 
the joy of his Lord. 

Thus died these faithful confessors, the last 
remains of the former church. Their descendants 
found themselves still compelled to hold their 
meetings in secret, and at length to confine them- 
selves to family worship ; which circumstance 
exceedingly hastened their decline. The fear of 
losing their property, imprisonment, fines, and 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627—1722. 161 



the enticements of the world, induced the rem- 
nant of this protestant church to conform, al^ 
though with an unquiet conscience, to the rites 
of the romish worship. 

" During a whole century, writes one of the 
brethren, at a later period, who had known the 
calamities of this sad time, and who had also 
seen the revival of the church — <£ During more 
than a century, we sat in darkness, and in the 
shadow of death ; the candlestick of our fathers 
was taken away, and their glory had departed." 
But there were some, even in those dark hours, 
who waited for the salvation of Israel; and the 
Lord has caused the spirit of the fathers to de- 
scend upon the children, and the example of 
their faith and patience has never been utterly 
without producing some fruit. 

After this oppression had continued in Moravia 
for about one hundred years, God at length 
arose to deliver his people, and to accomplish 
that work, the first appearances of which we are 
about to describe. And what was the com- 
mencement of these wonders ? How unsearch- 
able are the ways of the Lord, who giveth not 
his glory to another, and who, by the things that 
are not, brings to nought the things that are ! 
Who was the first instrument of God to draw 
forth from their obscurity those who were after- 
wards destined to exhibit such distinguished gifts 
and graces ? It was a beggar ! 

In 1715, the Neissers frequently met together 
with their neighbours, the families of Jceschke r 
Schneider, Nitschmann, and other brethren of 
p 2 



162 EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 

Zauchtenthal and its vicinity. An old dis- 
charged protestant soldier used to come often to 
beg among them, and gladdened their hearts by 
the evangelical hymns which he sung at their 
doors, and the scriptures he repeated. This was 
the man chosen to begin the deliverance of the 
brethren. He introduced them to the Lutheran 
ministers of the church at Teschen, to whom they 
frequently resorted for consolation and instruc- 
tion, although they had more than twelve leagues 
to travel. 

As if God delighted to accomplish his great 
work by feeble means, that no flesh should 
glory in his presence, not only was a begging 
soldier chosen to begin it, but a simple artisan 
was raised up to carry it on to a wonderful and 
glorious consummation. Christian David was 
his name. 

Christian David was born at Senftleben, a 
village of Moravia, December 31, 1690. Edu- 
cated in popery, he manifested great zeal for the 
practices of the church of Rome ; but he found 
neither rest for his conscience, nor strength to 
contend against sin. In his youth he was employ- 
ed in tending cows and sheep. Afterwards he 
learned the trade of a carpenter, in a place where 
he became acquainted with some persons of evan- 
gelical principles, who taught him that the wor- 
ship of images and the romish ceremonies in ge- 
neral were mere human inventions. These pious 
men were soon after apprehended and impri- 
soned in a cellar. Here he often heard them 
singing and praying, night and day, and this 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627—1722. 163 

deeply impressed his mind. He also, about the 
same time, became acquainted with some jews, 
and was much struck with their fidelity and 
zeal in observing their law. He conversed with 
them on their faith, and the result was, that he 
knew not what to think — whether the roman 
catholics, the prisoners in the cellar, or the jews 
were in the right. He had not yet seen a Bible; 
but when he learned that it was the word of 
God, he felt a strong desire to have one. At 
length he obtained it, and, after carefully read- 
ing, and comparing the Old and New Testaments 
together, the distressing doubts he had felt gra- 
dually vanished, and he was brought to believe 
that Jesus is the promised Messiah. From that 
time the Bible became his favourite book, and 
reading it was his recreation after labour. He 
was at length so well acquainted with the in- 
spired volume, and so accustomed to the lan- 
guage of the sacred writers, that even his ordi- 
nary conversation was almost purely biblical. 
It was also from his Bible that he learned to 
write, and formed a set of letters peculiar to 
himself. 

Having resolved to join the Lutherans, he 
repaired for that purpose to Hungary, after he 
had finished his apprenticeship. At Tyrnau he 
heard, for tKe first time, the singing of a Lutheran 
church, and was overpowered with joy. But the 
Lutherans of Hungary, to whom he made appli- 
cation, were afraid of incurring the severe penal- 
ties denounced against those who received among 
them a proselyte from popery, and therefore 
advised him to go into Saxony. 



164 



EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 



He went first to Leipsic, and then to Berlin, 
where he embraced protestantism, and took the 
Lord's supper in a Lutheran church. Still, 
however, he did not find all he had expected; 
on the contrary, he saw disorder and impiety al- 
most everywhere, and perceived that he could 
not himself live consistently as a christian, with- 
out becoming an object of contempt to many, 
and meeting with obstacles of all kinds. He 
then determined to enter the army, thinking that 
in that profession he should be more at liberty 
as to his religion, and be less exposed to the 
snares of his enemies. 

He enlisted accordingly, marched with the 1 
army sent against Charles xii. and was present 
at the siege of Stralsund. A little while after 
this he again went into Silesia, and worked at 
his former trade as a carpenter ; but, as he was 
still persecuted by the jesuits, he repaired, in 
1717, to Gcerlitz. 

At this place he became acquainted with; 
several enlightened men, among whom was* 
SchoefTer, the first pastor of the town ; Schwedler, 
the pastor of Niederweise ; and other children of 
God. Here he also married. His progress in 
piety was rapid, and particularly appeared in 
his concern for the salvation of souls. To this 
he devoted himself, and determined to spend his 
time in travelling from place to place to preach > 
the gospel, undeterred by the dangers he en- 
countered, and the hardships he endured, in that 1 
extraordinary mode of life. 

In the course of one of his journeys he arrived 
at Schlen, where he found the Neissers. He 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627—1722. 165 

taught them how to read the scriptures to edifi- 
cation, and expounded several passages, in their 
hearing. They were much affected by his exhor- 
tations, and perceived the striking contrast be- 
tween their own ignorance and the divine light 
and strength enjoyed by this humble christian ; 
and they longed to have intercourse with others 
of a similar spirit. They therefore entreated 
him, when he left them, to endeavour to find 
them an asylum in a protestant country : for 
they imagined that all the Lutherans were like 
Christian David. 

At the end of fourteen months, Christian David 
returned into Moravia ; having sought, without 
success, for the retreat which they so much de- 
sired ; but he confirmed their minds, by his ex- 
hortations, and encouraged them to continue in 
the exercise of faith and patience. 

It was not surprising that they desired to leave 
the country ; for they represented to David, that 
being constrained to engage in superstitious 
rites, their consciences were perpetually wound- 
ed, and they could get no peace, day or night* 
But it was the will of God that their patience 
should still be tried, and three whole years 
elapsed before their wishes were gratified. Dur- 
ing this time, they continued to meet as often as 
they could with the church at Teschen, at the 
head of which was the excellent Steinmetz, who, 
together with his colleagues, insisted upon the 
vital truths of Christianity, and preached to sin- 
ners the good news of salvation. 

The Neissers asked Steinmetz what they ought 
to do in their situation ; but, to their great sur- 
prise, he dissuaded them from emigrating, telling 



166 EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 



them that they would find every where the same 
corruption of manners, the same hinderances 
to true piety, and the same persecution of real 
christians. 

The poor brethren were terrified ; nevertheless, 
they persevered in entreating the Lord that he 
would deliver their souls from so many evils. 
All hope seemed to fail them, and they knew 
not what to do, when succour arrived at a mo- 
ment they little expected. 

On the morning of whitsunday, in the year 
1722, Christian David again visited them, 
bringing good news, saying that he had met 
with one count Zinzendorf, who was not only 
himself a real christian, but was also employed 
in bringing souls to Jesus : that with this design 
he had bought an estate in Upper Lusatia, where 
he had stationed a faithful pastor, named Rothe, 
and that there they might find the asylum they 
had so long desired. 

Christian David had no sooner communicated 
these glad tidings to the Neissers, than Augustin 
and James, who were cutlers by trade, deter- 
mined to leave every thing and follow him. 
Christian arrived on Lord's day, and it was 
fixed that, on the Wednesday following, they 
should quit their country. They resolved, 
that Augustin and James should go first, 
and that, if God blessed the enterprize, the 
others should soon follow. This resolution, 
however, required no slight sacrifices ; they had 
to leave all their property, a well -furnished 
house, and many friends, to whom they dared 
not even open their mouths on the project they 
had in view. Their mother, to whom they were 



TO ESTABLISH MENT OF NEW, 1627—1722. 167 



obliged to announce their intention, fainted se- 
veral times on hearing it ; her grief was so 
great, that they almost began to hesitate ; but 
they wrestled fervently with God on her behalf, 
and at length succeeded in tranquillizing her. 

Just at that moment James was struck with the 
idea of the situation in which they were leaving 
their cousin, Michael Jceschke, whom their 
uncle had so earnestly recommended to their 
care in his dying hours, and who was then about 
eighteen years old. He sent for Michael in the 
evening, entered into religious conversation with 
him, recalled to his recollection the last words 
of his father, and added, M The time is come ; I 
am going hence to save my soul, and those of my 
family, before it is too late. Augustin and my- 
self are determined to leave all, and go to a 
place that God has chosen for us. If you will, 
you can do the same ; we will take you with us, 
Xo save your soul also." Michael was overjoyed 
at the news, and readily entered into his cousins' 
plans. He had long desired to emigrate, but 
despaired of accomplishing his wishes. The pre- 
sent opportunity appeared an evident interposi- 
tion of Providence, and he resolved to embrace it. 

On the Wednesday after whitsunday, 1722, 
about ten o'clock at night, they began their jour- 
ney, full of courage and confidence in God. The 
company consisted of the two brothers, Augustin 
and James Neisser, with their wives and four 
children, one little boy six years old, one girl 
three years of age, and two twins three months' 
old, besides their cousin Michael Jceschke, and 
Martha Neisser, niece of Augustin. They tra- 
velled by the cross roads over the mountains, to 



168 extinction of ancient church 

avoid observation and elude the cruel vigilance 
of their foes. The journey was necessarily very 
painful to the children ; nevertheless, they all 
arrived safely at Niederweise, in Silesia, and 
were kindly received by M. Schwedler, the 
pastor. Michael remained there for the present* 
The rest proceeded to Goerlitz, where they were 
hospitably entertained for several days by M« 
Schaeffer, the minister of the place. Leaving 
their families there, Christian David and the 
two Neissers, accompanied by a citizen of Goer-> 
litz, repaired to Hennersdorf, the residence of the 
countess Gersdorf, grandmother of the young 
nobleman whose patronage they were seeking. 
Zinzendorf was then at Dresden. The countess 
treated them at first with some coldness, having 
been often deceived by impostors ; but Mr. 
Marche, the tutor in the family, interceded on 
their behalf, and it was agreed that they should 
be sent to Bertholdsdorf, a village two miles 
distant, of which the count was proprietor. 
Mr. Rothe, who had been nominated pastor of 
that place, but was not yet ordained, gave them 
a recommendatory letter to Mr. Heitz, the 
count's steward. 

" On the 8th of June," says Mr. Heitz, in a 
letter to count Zinzendorf, " two of the Mora- 
vian emigrants arrived at Hennersdorf, with a 
carpenter, one Christian David, and a citizen of 
Goerlitz. Madame, your grandmother, sent them 
to me, signifying that she thought they might be 
allowed to build, and requesting me to give them 
all the assistance in my power. In the mean 
time I have placed them in the manor-house, 
with which they seem very well pleased." This 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627 — 1722. 169 

was an old farm-house, built about 70 years 
before, which had never been inhabited. " Soon 
after, the two Neissers went to fetch their wives 
and children. We think with madame, the 
countess, that they should not build in the vil- 
lage of Bertholdsdorf : madame proposed the 
hill behind the village, where there is excellent 
water ; I preferred the other hill, through which 
the road passes ; she objected that there was no 
water, and not even the prospect of procuring 
any. To this I replied, 4 God can give it/ 

" Next morning I went at sun-rise, in per- 
fectly clear weather, to the place I had in view, 
in order to see if I could observe an exhalation 
in any spot. I perceived it all over the low 
lands at the side of the hill, and I took courage. 
I went again the next day, and found the same 
appearances. I was alone, and I lifted up my 
heart to God, spreading before him the misery 
and wants of these poor people, and beseeching 
him that he would not let us do any thing con- 
trary to his will. 

.fl In the meantime, Christian David and the 
two Neissers arrived with their families. I im- 
mediately went to see them, and recommended 
them again to madame, who had the goodness 
to send them a cow, to furnish milk for the 
children." 

The place which Heitz had fixed upon was on 
the declivity of the Hutberg, on the great road 
from Lcebau to Grittau. It was a wild spot, 
covered with bushes, marshy, and the carriages 
often sunk deep in the soil. This led the wife 
of Augustin Neisser to exclaim, when she saw 
Q 



170 



EXTINCTION OF ANCIENT CHURCH 



it, " Where shall we get bread in this wilder- 
ness V* Marche answered her, in a solemn tone, 
" If you believe, you shall in this place see the 
glory of God." Christian David took his axe, 
and striking it into the nearest tree, said, " Here 
the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow 
her nest ; even thine altars, O Lord of hosts !" 

On the 17th of June, the three new comers re- 
paired to the forest, and cut down the first tree 
for the first house in Herrnhut;* but as they 
were weak, through fatigue and poor food, this 
tree cost them more labour to work than five 
others. On the 7th and 8th of July, the wood 
being sufficiently prepared, was brought to the 
place in boats, and the three brethren began, 
with great toil, to build their house. Many 
times were they derided by the passengers ; and 
often did they, in the sequel, remember the feel- 
ing of perfect weakness which they then expe- 
rienced. It seemed to them, to use their own 
expression, that their enterprise was like that of 
children trying to build houses with cards. But 
they ceased not to trust in the Lord, who had 
conducted Abraham alone from his own country 
into a strange land, to make him a great nation, 
and a blessing to all the families of the earth. 

" While the three brethren," observed Heitz, 
in another letter, " were employed in their build- 
ing, I began to get the well dug; but every body 
ridiculed us, saying, that if water could have 
been procured in this place, it would have been 

* On the spot where this tree stood, a stone monument 
has since been erected, to perpetuate the remembrance of 
the event here mentioned. 



TO ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, 1627 — 1722- 171 

built on long before; that the water would not 
have waited the arrival of count Zinzendorf's 
steward to make its appearance. After two 
men had worked at the well for fifteen days, no 
water appeared, and they wanted to leave the 
spot. I told them to go on, and I would pay 
them ; but they replied, that still no water would 
come. I then said, that if, by the end of the 
third week, none should appear, we would find 
them some other employment. They persevered, 
and on monday evening found a soft clay, 
through which they worked during tuesday ; 
and on Wednesday, November 4th, we had water 
in abundance. " 

On the 11th of August the new house was 
raised, without the slightest accident to any 
one. The 30th of the same month, Mr. SchcefFer 
having come to ordain Mr. Rothe at Bertholds- 
dorf, used these remarkable words in his dis- 
course : " God will one day kindle a light upon 
these hills, which shall enlighten the whole 
country ; I am firmly assured of it." On the 
same occasion count Zinzendorf addressed an 
exhortation to his tenantry, in which he noticed 
the arrival of the brethren, and recommended 
them to the kind attentions of the inhabitants of 
Bertholdsdorf. 

The house being finished, one of the Neissers 
entered it on the 7th of October, the other a few 
days after, and David on the 28th. Heitz, who 
had daily visited and encouraged the workmen, 
and cherished a lively interest in the under- 
taking, wished to dedicate the house to God on 
an appointed day. He delivered a discourse on 



172 



FROM 1627 TO 1722. 



Rev. xxi. spoke of the magnificence of the New 
Jerusalem, of the holiness and happiness of its 
inhabitants, applying these ideas to the house 
they had erected, and finished with a most fer- 
vent prayer. 

They named the rising town Herrnhut ; and 
in fact, though the appellation was only deter- 
mined upon two years later, the place had been 
so called from its earliest days, from the name 
of the hill on which it was built (Hutberg.) 
Herrnhout. This word signifies, the defence of 
God, and the name was the more readily adopted, 
because it was not given in honour of any human 
being.* 

In September, 1722, Zinzendorf married the 
countess of Reuss. As he was conducting her to 
Hennersdorf, towards the end of December, he 
was agreeably surprised at seeing in the forest, 
not far from the high road, a house that he did 
not recollect to have seen before. On being 
told that it belonged to the Moravian emigrants, 
he went in, welcomed them in the most affec- 
tionate manner, fell upon his knees with them, 
and gave his blessing to the place, beseeching 
the Lord to have his eyes always upon it. 

* The word Herrnhut also signifies " the watch of the 
Lord and Heitz observed, in a letter to Zinzendorf, " We 
have called this place Herrnhut, to remind us, on the one 
hand, that the Lord is our protector and keeper ; and on the 
other, that it is our duty to stand in the watch-tower and 
keep ward." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF ZINZENDORF TO THE 
YEAR 1722, AND OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE 
OF HERRNHUT AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD 
DURING THE SAME PERIOD, 1700 — 1727. 

Count Zinzendorf was born at Dresden, June 
26, 1700. He was descended from Austrian 
ancestors, who had embraced and promoted the 
reformation with much ardour, and with such 
success, that in 1580, there were found on the 
estates of this family alone four protestant pa- 
rishes. Persecution, however, broke out; the 
count's grandfather quitted Austria, leaving all 
his property behind him, and his sons retired 
into Saxony. 

His father dying when he was only six weeks 
old, his mother repaired with her young infant 
to his relations at Gross-Hennersdorf ; but after- 
wards, having married again, she went to live 
at Berlin, leaving the child in the care of his 
grandmother, the baroness de Gersdorf, a lady 
highly esteemed among the pious. The cele- 
brated Spener was one of the friends of the 
family ; and several of the divines of Halle, Dr. 
Anton, the famous Francke, baron Canstein, 
and other distinguished men, corresponded with 
and frequently visited her. 

Q 2 



174 ACCOUNT OF ZINZEXDORF, 



At this time a religious revival took place in 
Germany, which spread through all classes, and 
the conversion of great numbers, both among the 
nobility and the people at large, was the result. 
At Gross-Hennersdorf, in particular, such great 
seriousness prevailed, that the mind of the count 
was, from his earliest years, formed to those 
sentiments of piety, which he afterwards felt so 
powerfully. 

Though apparently robust, Zinzendorf was 
naturally of a delicate constitution, but of a very 
lively mind, and of a quick understanding, and 
extraordinary memory. In early life, he was 
observed to possess a peculiarly amiable disposi- 
tion, mixed however with some degree of ar- 
dency, petulance, and imperiousness. His reli- 
gious impressions were early manifested, and 
grew with astonishing rapidity. While a child 
four or five years old, he used to collect the chairs 
together, and speak to them of his great friend, 
the Saviour ; and at the age of six years, he held 
prayer meetings with such persons as he could 
assemble together; and so great was the impres- 
sion produced on some of the auditors, that one 
day several Swedish soldiers, who had come to 
Hennersdorf to levy contributions, were deeply 
struck by the boldness and power with which 
the little preacher spoke of the gospel, and they 
were on the point of forgetting the object of 
their journey. There was something extraordi- 
nary in the very appearance of the child ; and 
the pious and distinguished men we have men- 
tioned, Spener, Anton, and Canstein, often 



AND STATE OF IIEltRNHUT, 1700—1727- 175 

gave him their blessing, both personally and in 
their letters. 

The castle of Hennersdorf was to him full of 
interesting recollections of Divine mercy and fa- 
vour. Among other remarkable incidents which 
he mentions, is the following : — " One evening," 
says he, <£ when I was in my sixth year, my pre- 
ceptor, on taking leave of me after family prayer, 
had spoken to me in such tender terms of my Sa- 
viour, of his merits and love in redeeming me, 
and in a way so clear, intelligent, and moving, 
that I was for a long time dissolved in tears, and 
made a resolution to live only for the Man of 
sorrows, who had given his life for me. 

" In my eighth year, I one night lay awake a 
long time, and, meditating on a hymn which my 
grandmother used often to sing before going to 
rest, I became so deeply immersed in thought, 
that at last 1 could neither see nor hear any 
thing. Ideas of a sceptical nature troubled me, 
but as my heart was engaged for the Saviour, 
these thoughts, whenever they returned, never 
produced the least effect upon me ; I loved him 
in whom I believed, and whatever thus arose 
from my own thoughts was hateful to me. From 
that moment I resolved to rest simply on the 
truths which had engaged my heart, especially 
the doctrine of the cross, even of the death of the 
Lamb of God. I determined to make this the 
foundation of all truths, and to reject every thing 
which could not be shown to rest on this great 
foundation." 

With these religious feelings and sentiments, 
Zinzendorf went to Halle, when six years old, and 



176 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 



was placed in one of the institutions of the cele- 
brated Francke.* 

Among Francke's institutions there was a col- 
lege for young men of the upper ranks of society. 
To this college Zinzendorf was sent. His grand- 
mother having recommended that he should be 
kept strictly, and brought up in humility, his 
masters so closely followed this direction, that 
they often did him injustice, of which his com- 
panions took advantage, to humble him still 
more. They derided him for his attachment to 
the gospel, and endeavoured to draw him into 
sin, and rob him of that correctness of manners 
which he had brought with him from home. 
" But," says he, " as I was upheld by a. power 
they knew not ; I was not only preserved from 
their snares, but succeeded, more than once, 
in gaining some of them over to my Saviour." 

In the midst of all this opposition, it was a 
great consolation to Zinzendorf to enjoy the cor- 
dial esteem of some of his masters, and even of his 
school-fellows. He set on foot private meetings 
for prayer, and so great was his zeal in this work, 
that on leaving Halle, in 1716, he was able to 
deliver to professor Francke a list of seven socie- 
ties of this kind, which he had originated since 
the year 1710. But we will leave him to speak 
for himself as to the design he had in view, and 
the success which attended his labours. 

" Between 1713 and 1714, there were five 

* For an account of that illustrious man, the institutions 
which he founded, and the astonishing results of his labours, 
see the " Life of Francke," published by the Religious Tract 
Society. — Ed. 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 177 



young persons at Halle of noble rank, united 
together in the most intimate manner, and fully 
experiencing the truth of our Saviour's words, 
< Wherever two or three are gathered together 
in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' " 
Three of the printed documents belonging to this 
association are still extant; one of which thus 
begins, " Faithful Saviour, O my life !" The 
second is a hymn for the Lord's supper, and the 
third contains the statutes of an association of 
nobles, which lasted from 1724 to 1741, and num- 
bered among its members, not only persons of 
high rank of both sexes, ministers, generals, 
&c. but prelates also, and even the primates of 
several kingdoms. It took for its name, " The 
order of the grain of mustard-seed. " In 1719, 
it had for its emblem an ecce komo* with the 
legend, nostra medela.f Some years after this, 
the associates adopted as an emblem of their 
union, a gold ring with this motto, in greek, 
" None of us liveth to himself." 

Although these five young men were of dif- 
ferent communions, they never thought of dis- 
puting on the points whereon they differed ; and 
" in the recollection of none of them," says Zin- 
zendorf, " did a single conversation, or reading, 
or singing, or prayer take place, that had any 
other subject than the sufferings and death of 
Christ." Zinzendorf took the lead in all their 
undertakings ; and he was accustomed to say, 

* A head, representing Christ, at the moment when he is 
presented to the people by Pilate, with these words, " Behold 
the man !" 

t Our cure. 



178 



ACCOUNT OF Z1NZENDOKF, 



that he would walk miles at any time to join in 
singing a hymn of praise to the Saviour. " From 
my infancy/' says he, " I had no other motto 
than this verse, 

'What shall I do for thee, my Lord? — 

As long as 1 have breath, 
Deep in my heart will I record 

The memory of thy death.'" 

Two of this juvenile society, Zinzendorf and 
Watteville, met together in 171.5, for the ex- 
press purpose of devising means for the conver- 
sion of the heathen. They could not hope to 
take any personal part in this work ; but, as the 
Lord had been the guide of a Francke and a 
Canstein, they trusted he would also direct them 
to some friends, perhaps even among their fellow- 
students, who might labour with them in promot- 
ing so good a cause. Influenced by these feel- 
ings, while engaged in the midst of the most 
worldly avocations, to which they were con- 
strained to apply themselves in the riding or 
fencing school, and even when at their sports, 
they endeavoured to insinuate impressions of the 
love of their Saviour into the minds of their com- 
panions. 

The circumstance that contributed most power- 
fully to cherish these sentiments in the mind of 
Zinzendorf, was his residence in the house of 
Francke, where he w r as surrounded by christian 
institutions of every kind, which this eminent 
man had originated. Here our young christian 
found himself in his element. The mission to 
Tranquebar in particular, founded by the king 
of Denmark, was at this time eminently sue- 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 179 



cessful ; and Zinzenclorf daily received the most 
interesting reports of the progress of the king- 
dom of God. He had also an opportunity of 
conversing with eye-witnesses of the facts from 
all parts of the world, and of seeing the mission- 
aries themselves, many of whom had suffered 
persecution and exile for the sake of the gospel. 
Above all, the establishments of Francke, which 
were then in their glory, his activity, his courage, 
and the triumphs which constantly followed his 
numerous trials, left an impression on the mind 
of Zinzendorf, which nothing could efface. 

Although he attended to some branches of 
study merely in compliance with the calls of 
duty, yet he made such rapid progress in them, 
that at 15 years of age he could read the greek 
classics ; and the year following he delivered a 
public oration in that language. He was so 
ready in composing in the latin tongue, that if 
a subject were given him, he was accustomed to 
deliver his thoughts upon it without premedita- 
tion. He wrote in this language with elegance 
and ease. In the hebrew he was not so success- 
ful. His talents for poetry were considerable, 
and verses frequently flowed into his mind with 
greater rapidity than he could write them down. 
In the latter part of his life he used frequently 
to dictate hymns in the full assembly of the 
church. 

During the six years that Zinzendorf was 
studying at Halle, Francke truly appreciated his 
character : he used to say of him, " This young 
man will one day become a great light in the 
church/' 

3 



180 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 



Zinzendorf would willingly have finished his 
studies at Halle ; but his uncle, who was also 
his guardian, vainly wishing to check his reli- 
gious fervour, directed him to enter the uni- 
versity of Wittemberg. He accordingly com- 
menced his studies there in the autumn of 1716. 
At first he was very unhappy, having no pious 
companions; added to which, he quickly became 
the object of general ridicule, on account of his 
apparent austerity of manners, and his refusal 
to join in worldly amusements. This, however, 
had a salutary influence on his mind, and rather 
confirmed than weakened his religious impres- 
sions. Deprived of the christian fellowship 
which he had enjoyed at Halle, he sought for 
comfort in retirement. Frequently the whole 
night was spent in devout exercises, and one 
day in every week was regularly devoted to fast- 
ing and prayer. Meanwhile, his studies were 
not neglected. Theology was his chief delight, 
and occupied all his spare hours ; but, as it was 
hoped he would fill some important office in the 
state, he was desired to pay particular attention 
to the study of law. He complied ; and the 
knowledge he acquired was afterwards of singu- 
lar use in managing the affairs of the brethren. 

The divines of Halle and Wittemberg had 
taken opposite sides, in what was called the 
adiaphoristic controversy, or the dispute con- 
cerning things 44 indifferent. " Theatrical amuse- 
ments, dancing, games of chance, &c. were re- 
garded by Francke and his coadjutors as un- 
lawful, and utterly inconsistent with true reli- 
gion. Those of Wittemberg, on the contrary, 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 181 

held them to be innocent, and stigmatized their 
opponents as pietists ; a designation given to 
those in Germany who were anxious for the re- 
vival of scriptural piety, The contest had 
raged, fiercely and long, and was familiarly styled 
" the thirty years' war." But the combatants 
were now beginning to be weary. In this state 
of things, the professors of Wittemberg were de- 
sirous of a mediator between the contending 
parties. They fixed upon Zinzendorf. It is 
true he was a young man, and he was a pietist ; 
but his amiable temper, his conciliating manners, 
and his prudentconduct had caused him to be uni- 
versally esteemed. He was well acquainted with 
the arguments on both sides of the question. 
Though firmly attached to the principles of piet- 
ism, as it was called, he was considered by the 
opponents more moderate and liberal than most 
of that persuasion. In fact he had gained the 
confidence of both parties, and it was unanimously 
agreed that he should be requested to mediate be- 
tween them. He accordingly undertook to do so, 
and for some months his efforts seemed to be 
successful. A conference was about to be 
held on the subject, when his mother, at the 
instigation of some ill-disposed person, com- 
manded him to interfere no further in the busi- 
ness. The count considered obedience his duty 
in this instance, and said, ' 6 The matter of 
Halle was of very great importance certainly, 
but to obey the fifth commandment was abso- 
lutely necessary." He was, therefore, obliged 
to abandon the project; and soon after, at the 
desire of his relations, left the university, where 

R 



182 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZEN DORF, 



he had obtained the reputation of a man of 
original genius, endowed with extraordinary gifts 
and talents, whose society was agreeable and 
instructive, though he sometimes displeased the 
generality by his zeal for things which they ac- 
counted indifferent. 

His friends then urged him to travel, and he 
again complied with their wishes, more from a 
spirit of obedience than from any desire he felt 
for such a mode of life ; for he feared the in- 
fluence of the world upon his religious affections. 
In 1719 he first visited Holland, still pursuing 
his general studies, while at the same time he 
did not neglect theology, which was his favourite 
pursuit. 

From Holland he proceeded to France, and 
spent several months in Paris. The licentious- 
ness of that city deeply affected him. His rank 
in life exposed him to many temptations, arising 
from unavoidable intercourse with the great and 
the gay. A young nobleman who never went 
to the theatre, and almost knew the Bible by 
heart, was a phenomenon ! The roman catholic 
clergy, too, could not endure the thought that 
so promising a young man should be a pro- 
testant and a pietist. One party endeavoured 
to corrupt his morals ; the other tampered with 
his religion. By the blessing of God, both were 
unsuccessful, and Zinzendorf left Paris without 
yielding to the allurements of worldly pleasure, 
or surrendering a single article of his religion, 
either in doctrine or practice. In one respect 
his residence there was beneficial to him : he 
gained more knowledge of men and things, and 
2 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 183 

thereby acquired experience and habits which 
proved serviceable to him in his subsequent life. 

In the spring of 1720 he returned to Ger- 
many. He was then under promise of marriage 
to one of his relations, a very pious lady, to 
whom he was tenderly attached ; but having 
discovered that a friend of his, count Henry xxii. 
de Reuss, was deeply in love with her, and that 
she herself was not disinclined to the change, 
he released her from her engagement. " I saw," 
says he, " no other obstacle to this sacrifice 
than my extreme love to my cousin ; for when I 
thought of the surrender, it seemed like giving 
up one half of my heart. But this consideration 
had an effect contrary to what might have been 
expected : I thought that I should not be worthy 
of my Saviour if T did not offer to him what I 
loved the most. My cousin first, and afterwards 
her parents, consented to it, and I was able to 
unite my two friends with fervent prayer, and at 
the same time to give myself entire and afresh to 
my Saviour." The Saviour, however, to whom he 
devoted himself, had, unknown to him, provided 
for him a companion more capable of assisting 
him in the important career which he was des- 
tined to run. 

Had he been left to his own choice, Zinzendorf 
would have immediately devoted himself to the 
christian ministry. But here again the wishes 
and plans of his relations thwarted him, and he 
found it necessary to yield so far as to accept 
an important legal appointment, which obliged 
him to reside principally at Dresden. His 
characteristic simplicity and ardour were soon 



184 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 



manifested in his new situation. He spent much 
time in labouring to prevent lawsuits, or to ex- 
pedite them when they were entered upon ; and 
he was frequently successful in accomplishing" an 
amicable arrangement of the disputes between 
the peasants and the local authorities. Every 
Lord's day he held private meetings for christian 
edification. And he issued a periodical work, 
The Dresden Socrates, in which he freely ex- 
posed the follies and vices of the age, although 
sometimes, as he afterwards confessed, his zeal 
exceeded the bounds of discretion. 

Zinzendorf became of age in 1721, and, in 
the following year, purchased the manor of 
Bertholdsdorf. He soon afterwards married one 
of the sisters of his friend, count Henry xxii. 
de Reuss, a woman of the greatest piety, who 
was in all respects, temporal and spiritual, suited 
to be a help meet for him. Her parent's house 
had been the habitual resort of Spener, and other 
pious men of that time. 

Here we may state some particulars of his 
private life, extending beyond the date of this 
chapter. Count Zinzendorf had twelve children, 
ten of whom died in early youth. His daughter, 
Theodora Caritas, died in 1731. As soon as 
she was born, her parents laboured to educate her 
for the Saviour, and were especially careful that 
she should not hear or see anything which had not 
some relation to the love of Christ. She was 
constantly attended by certain sisters of the 
church, selected on account of their eminent 
piety. 

Before she was quite twelve months old, the 



AND STATE OF IIERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 185 



young countess could speak with some degree of 
fluency, and soon after it was her greatest plea- 
sure to sing, as she said, the Saviour's verses. 
She had learned several verses, and even entire 
hymns, from having heard the sisters repeat 
them ; and she could sing the principal tunes in 
the brethren's collection. She was particularly 
delighted with the following : 

" Dearest Saviour, keep my eye 
Ever fixed upon thy love," &c. 

and, 

" O thou, dear Lamb, thou Prince of Peace, 
When thy divine attractions," &c. 

One day, on her mother's asking her where 
she had been, she replied, " To the Saviour, and 
to papa." " You have been to the Saviour?" 
" Yes," said she, " papa was just now speaking 
with Him." She had found him in prayer. 

When she had committed any fault, and 
thought she had offended the Saviour, she in- 
stantly fell on her knees to implore his mercy ; 
she was likewise most ready to ask forgiveness 
of her father, mother, or any other person, even 
without being told to do so. In her simple and 
infantile prayers, she remembered all the brethren 
and sisters whom she knew : " Dear Saviour," 
she would say, " thou seest such or such a 
brother, bless him for thy own name's sake, 
Amen." Then she would rise from her knees, 
and go about her little affairs, and afterwards, 
if she recollected any other person, she would 
begin again to pray. 

When she was seized with her last sickness^ 
r 2 



186 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 



she began to sing a verse, usually sung at a 
child's funeral : 

" Take me to thy rest divine ; 
Rock me, Saviour, I am thine ! 
Close my sense to every ill, 
Jesus, whom my soul loves still !" 6cc. 

It is the custom of the brethren to sing around 
each other's death-beds. A few days before the 
child's death, when she was rapidly sinking, the 
count composed and sung the following stanzas : 

"In thy sweet peace, dear Saviour, 
May she for ever rest ; 
Before thy face, 
Thou King of grace, 
Prepared to live for ever, 
A lamb upon thy breast; 
Within thy sacred city to abide, 
Within thy heavenly temple, near thy side I" 

On the day of her death, her father coining 
very early to her bed, she raised her right hand 
and put it over her eyes, as she had been accus- 
tomed to do when she wished to go to sleep. 
On this he placed his hand upon hers and sung 
this verse : 

" Freely to thee my spirit yields 

This infant, dearest Lord ; 
And pressed with burning thirst awaits 

The droppings of thy word ; 
Thy heavenly unction may I prove 
The richest graces of thy love." 

While the words were yet upon his lips, the 
child rendered up her spirit to God, aged two 
years and six weeks. 

On occasion of the death of their eldest child, 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 187 

both the parents were wonderfully supported, 
and enabled to surrender their daughter into the 
Saviour's hands. The count, on his knees, 
offered up this sacrifice to the Lord in his wife's 
name and his own, beseeching him graciously to 
accept it ; and during their prayer the child de- 
parted. 

Another child, John Ernest, died May 16, 1732. 
When he was dying, and his eldest sister was 
weeping, her little brother, four years and a half 
old, asked her why she wept. " Because my 
brother is dying." " Oh no," said he, " he 
is not dying, though they say so ; it is only his 
misery that is dying." The day before his 
decease, while this child was in great pain, the 
little Caritas, at that time about eighteen months' 
old, was rocking the cradle, and singing, in a 
charmingly distinct voice, 

" Little harmless lamb of Christ, 
Thus thy life in sorrow passes," &c. 

From facts like these we may judge of the 
character of the man to whom God was about to 
confide the revived church of the brethren in its 
infant state. They may serve to convince us 
that he was the same both in public and in pri- 
vate life. 

There were at Hennersdorf, where Zinzenclorf 
had been brought up, at Bertholdsdorf, where he 
had just settled, and in the surrounding parts, a 
few persons, distinguished both for their rank in 
the world and their piety, who all became fellow- 
labourers with the brethren, and of whom we 
shall now give a short account. 

In 1722, the baron de Watteville, of Berne, 



188 ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 

came to Bertholdsdorf. He had been a fellow- 
student with Zinzendorf, at Halle, and a member 
of one of the praying societies before mentioned. 
From Halle he had gone to Paris, where the 
vanities of the world had made him almost an 
infidel. He had, however, been only a few 
weeks with Zinzendorf, when the piety of the 
family brought him back to a sense of his con- 
dition. He then fell into a state of great des- 
pondency, which issued in universal scepticism. 
Often did he entreat the Lord, who, he thought, 
had forsaken him, either to annihilate him, or 
to reveal himself so manifestly, that he could no 
longer doubt his existence. Every member of 
the family endeavoured to console him ; the 
count especially was unremitting in endeavours 
to support his friend by his prayers and exhort- 
ations. While in this state, the expression, 
" God is love" was one day brought to his mind 
with such power, that he fell on his face over- 
powered with joy, and remained in that atti- 
tude for several hours, calling incessantly on the 
Lord. This happy transition from darkness to 
light took place on the 21st of January, 1723 ; 
it greatly tended to confirm and cement the 
union between the baron and Zinzendorf. 

Two other distinguished men were associated 
with them, the pastor Rothe, and SchoefTer of 
Goerlitz. Of the former he thus speaks: " Rothe 
was profoundly learned, and possesssed in a 
high degree the talent of teaching ; he so 
clearly comprehended every thing which he dis- 
cussed, that he preached without the slightest 
hesitation, and in the most systematic manner, 



AND STATE OF HERRSHtfT, 1700—1727- 189 

as the notes taken while he was delivering 
his discourses show. For an extemporaneous 
preacher he had a wonderful precision, and 
although he spoke rather like a professor giving 
his lectures, he was never dry, nor did he ever 
appear long or tedious. This might partly arise 
from the rapidity of his utterance, but more 
from the extraordinary gift of eloquence which 
he possessed : the talents of Luther, Spener, 
Francke, and Schwedler were united in him. 
The lowest peasant understood him, and the 
greatest philosopher heard him with attention and 
respect. He was admired even by his enemies, 
and the brethren acknowledged, that of all the 
apostolic discourses which were ever delivered 
among them at that time, none were to be com- 
pared, for solidity of thought, spiritual unction, 
or wise admonition, with those of Rothe. 

Professor SchoefFer was the intimate friend of 
Rothe. He was a faithful pastor, wdio had suf- 
fered much reproach for the name of Christ, and 
was truly worthy of a place in such an associ- 
ation. 

The great object to which these four brethren 
directed their attention, was the spread of the 
gospel. This work they divided among them- 
selves in the following manner. SchoefTer con- 
tinued to preach the word in Goerlitz with power 
and great boldness. Although he perceived the 
errors and abuses of the established worship and 
discipline, he submitted to them, at the same 
time pointing out the various imperfections he 
observed. He also held private meetings, in 
which he permitted every one to express his 



190 ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDORF, 



opinion of the sermons he had heard, and freely 
to lay open the state of his mind. 

Rothe and count Zinzendorf had agreed that 
the latter, though the patron of the living, 
should fulfil, in all spiritual things the func- 
tions of deacon and catechist. " On Lord's day 
mornings/' says Zinzendorf, " Rothe preached 
with great power : he seemed as if he would 
exhaust every subject, and collect together a 
treasure of comfort against the evil times which 
were coming upon the church. If three or four 
festivals occurred in succession, it was not too 
much either for the preacher, or the church ; on 
the contrary, the last day was generally the most 
glorious, and the minister seemed to possess, in 
a high degree, the gift of presenting the doctrine 
of salvation in a fresh aspect, and with a grace 
and savour ever new : no one was weary." 

At noon Rothe catechised, or sometimes held 
a general conversation with his hearers, in 
which they spoke and prayed by turns, with the 
greatest simplicity. At these meetings none ap- 
peared with more true dignity, or spoke more to 
the heart, than Rothe himself. After this fol- 
lowed singing of hymns, in which the count, as 
deacon, and the organist, Tobias Friedrich, en- 
deavoured " to bring the souls of the hearers 
into union with the heavenly choirs by the most 
inspiring melody." From this arose a custom 
which still continues among the brethren. The 
leader of the singing gives out a succession of 
hymns, according to a certain order of subjects, 
and passes insensibly from one melody to an- 
other, sweetly keeping up the attention, exciting 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727- 191 

the liveliest emotions, and leaving an indescrib- 
able impression of the connexion of the different 
subjects. 

In speaking* of the music of the church, we 
ought to say something of the organist just 
named. Tobias Friedrich was the son of a peasant 
of Franconia. In 1 722, when he was only thirteen 
years old, he was brought to the acquaintance 
of the brethren, and to the knowledge of him- 
self. His talents were so great, that in 1727, at 
the age of eighteen, he was in the zenith of his re- 
nown. At the same time he was qualified for many 
other engagements, and when he died, in 1736, 
was employed as secretary. He had the most 
important affairs to transact for the kingdom of 
Christ, in Denmark and Sweden, and with the 
university of Jena. He had a particular tact in 
conducting himself with propriety in the com- 
pany of persons of rank ; and his behaviour to- 
wards his inferiors was equally suitable. He pur- 
sued an admirable order in the great and extend- 
ed concerns that were entrusted to him, and had 
an astonishingly happy method of forming and 
keeping up the most friendly relations with all 
classes, in order to bring them to the knowledge 
of the Lord Jesus. His chief duty, however, was 
the direction of the music of the church, which 
he knew how to apply to its proper purposes, and 
in which, as far as man can judge, he appeared to 
imitate the harmonies of heaven, and the songs of 
angels; so that several masters of the art re- 
garded him as without a rival. "We have not," 
says Zinzendorf, " found his equal in the church 
below, since he went to join that which is above/' 



192 



ACCOUNT OF ZINZENDOUF, 



When the hour of singing was over, they as- 
sembled again in the hall of the count's house, 
where he repeated, in the presence of the pastor, 
the morning sermon ; the pastor, or some other 
person, adding a few observations. While the 
count was at Dresden, Rothe himself repeated 
the discourse ; and the count held public meet- 
ings at his house in Dresden, on the Lord's day, 
and in the week. Besides the public services of 
the Lord's day, there were also more private meet- 
ings held during the week at the house of a lady, 
in Bertholdsdorf, for the special instruction of 
inquirers, which were very useful to many ; and 
separate services were appointed from time to 
time, for the benefit of established christians : so 
that provision was made for all classes, and all 
conditions. 

Baron Watteville, whom we have before men- 
tioned, was of an amiable character, full of sym- 
pathy for the afflicted, and enjoying a high de- 
gree of esteem, from the talent he possessed of 
making himself agreeable to persons of every 
rank. To him was assigned that part of the 
work which was most suited to his gifts ; and 
which did not fall under the cognizance of the 
others. He perfectly understood how to pro- 
mote peace, to restore it where it had been in- 
terrupted, and to guard against even the most 
distant approaches to disunion. 

These four brethren not only used all their ef- 
forts in promoting the Saviour's cause imme- 
diately around them ; but they also determined 
to neglect no opportunity of advancing it in dis- 
tant parts. Zinzendorf, especially, had the charge 



AND STATE OF HERRNHUT, 1700—1727. 193 



of the vast correspondence, which his travels and 
his great talents had procured him, with some of 
the most distinguished persons of every country 
in Europe. They also established a printing 
press, for the sole purpose of circulating, at a 
cheap rate, all sorts of religious publications, 
especially the holy scriptures. 

At the same time establishments were formed 
for the instruction of children in the principles of 
Christianity ; beginning with the poor children 
at Bertholdsdorf. Madame de Gensdorf had 
left legacies for this purpose. 

In the same place they also established a school 
for the general education of young females ; and 
in January, 1724, resolved, in concert with their 
wives, to found other establishments, all devoted 
to the same great end, of opposing the kingdom 
of darkness, and promoting the kingdom of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. They entered into a written 
engagement to furnish the sum of fifteen hundred 
rix dollars, for the erection of a large building, 
in which they proposed to establish a school for 
young persons of noble families ; a bookseller's 
shop, for the sale of the publications we have 
mentioned ; and a dispensary to furnish the poor 
with medicines, in time of sickness, at a moderate 
price. The agreement concluded with these 
words : " This building is commenced in the faith 
of the living God, who never refuses any thing 
that his saints agree to ask of him : for this 
reason no one of us will suffer himself to be dis- 
couraged by trouble, opposition, or contempt ; 
but, on the contrary, will endeavour, as occasion 
may require, and in the strength of the Lord, not 



194 



FROM 1700 TO 1727. 



only to give a reason of the hope that is in him, 
but also as much as possible to support this 
christian work. Amen. May the Lord also say, 
Amen !" 

As there had been no preacher at Bertholds- 
dorf this year, from May to August, the first Mo- 
ravian exiles, who had built their houses at the 
distance of only a mile from that place, repaired 
to the meetings held at the house of Heitz, where 
the doctrines of salvation were expounded with 
clearness and remarkable affection. They were 
accustomed to compare scripture with scripture ; 
all who could read brought their Bibles, and 
every one was at liberty to make his remarks on 
what was read. These meetings were a great 
blessing to the refugees. 

As soon as Mr. Rothe arrived at Bertholds- 
dorf, the Moravian brethren attended, with the 
other parishioners, on the preaching and meet- 
ings for christian edification, which were held 
both in the church, and at the count's house. 
They did not return home after the morning ser- 
vice, but brought their dinner, and waited for 
the worship in the afternoon. 

Such was the religious state of Bertholdsdorf 
and its neighbourhood at this time : the rich, 
about twelve in number, were entirely devoted 
to the Lord, and all experienced the truth of 
Christ's promise to his church, 66 Where two or 
three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." 



CHAPTER IX. 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722 1727. 

When the two Neissers were established in their 
new habitation, Christian David returned into 
Moravia and Bohemia, to seek for more brethren. 
" He was employed, " says an historian of that 
period, " in the beginning of 1723, in flooring 
the hall of the count's house, at Bertholdsdorf, 
and had scarcely half-finished it, when he sud- 
denly left his axe and his rule, and even his hat, 
and set out on a journey of seventy leagues, to 
the three other Neissers, whom he had left at 
Schlen." 

They had been summoned before the magis- 
trates, on account of the escape of their two 
brethren, and were thrown into prison, where 
they remained for some time. When they were 
released, they asked permission of the authorities 
of the place, who were jesuits, to quit the coun- 
try ; but being threatened with fresh imprison- 
ment and the inquisition, they resolved on de- 
parting without leave. Just at this time, Chris- 
tian David visited them, and in the summer of 
the same year, 1723, they accomplished their 
purpose, accompanied by their families, in all 
eighteen persons, and arrived safely at Bertholds- 
dorf. Heitz, the steward, obtained permission 



196 INCREASE AT HE URN HUT, 1722 — 1727. 



for them to build whatever dwellings they needed, 
and they settled in a state of great poverty, sup- 
porting themselves by the labour of their hands. 

In this painful situation, as to temporal things, 
they were greatly comforted by Watteville com- 
ing to live amongst them. The inclination which 
he felt to cultivate intercourse with the pious 
poor, induced him to occupy a little apartment 
in the rising village, in order to enjoy the plea- 
sures of a retired life, and to promote the under- 
takings that had been commenced there. The 
refugees were very happy in having the advan- 
tage of his christian exhortations, and the more 
so as the pastor lived at a distance, and count 
Zinzendorf was often detained at Dresden by 
state affairs. 

About christmas, in the year 1723, Christian 
David went again to Moravia. He repaired to 
Zauchtenthal, to the house of David Schneider, 
son of Samuel Schneider before mentioned. A 
few persons desirous of hearing the truth, as- 
sembled around him, and to them he preached 
with a life and savour, which were altogether new 
to them. 

From thence he went to Kunewalde, where he 
delivered a discourse upon the beatitudes, before 
a numerous assembly. His preaching produced 
a wonderful effect in both these places : the 
word of salvation was received with astonish- 
ment and joy ; it was the topic of conversation 
in the houses, streets, and roads ; and the whole 
country was suddenly brought into a state of 
excitement. There were but few families in the 
large village of Zauchtenthal that were not in- 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 197 

fluenced by the power of Divine grace. At 
Kunewalde, Melchior Nitschmann, a young man, 
twenty years of age, began to hold meetings. 
The people assembled at each other's houses to 
sing hymns and read the word of God ; they were 
often engaged in these exercises by night as well 
as by day ; and many persons, while this re- 
vival continued, allowed themselves scarcely any 
sleep. The shepherds sung hymns while they 
were tending their flocks ; the servants at their 
work talked of nothing but the salvation of 
Jesus; in all the surrounding villages the sound 
of worldly music was no longer heard, and thea- 
trical and dancing assemblies were entirely de- 
serted. David Nitschmann, a weaver, eighteen 
years of age, with several others, went through 
every part of the country, declaring what had 
been done for their souls, and beseeching sinners 
to give themselves up to the love of the Lord 
Jesus ; and thus the fire, which had been just 
kindled, was incessantly kept up. Even little 
children poured out fervent prayers to " Eternal 
Love," as they delighted to call the blessed 
God, and called upon their parents to come with 
them to the Friend of sinners. A young girl, 
twelve years of age, died with so lively an as- 
surance of Divine favour, with so complete a 
renunciation of the world, and such joyful an- 
ticipations of eternal glory, that her testimony 
produced the deepest impression on all around 
her. Little account was then made of this or 
that outward denomination ; every one spoke 
of Jesus and his power, of the love of the Father, 
and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This was the 
s 2 



198 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—172'/. 



only confession, the only foundation on which 
the new-born souls rested, while despising the 
cross, and braving reproach, persecutions, and 
death. 

Persecutions soon arose, and raged with such 
fury, that in 1724 the whole lordship of Weiss- 
kirch was summoned to rise in a mass for the 
destruction of Zauchtenthal. The magistrates 
and priests endeavoured at first to quench the re- 
ligious spirit by prohibitions and threatenings ; 
but such attempts were useless. The enemies 
then proceeded from threatenings to acts of 
violence. Not only all who had held meetings, 
but all those who had attended them, were im- 
prisoned ; and as the prisons were soon filled, 
they shut up the brethren in stables and infec- 
tious dungeons, where many of them w r ere ready 
to perish. Some were confined in cellars half 
filled with water, where they were kept till they 
were nearly dead with cold ; others were placed, 
in the depth of winter, on the tops of towers, in 
order to compel them, by the sufferings they 
experienced through the inclemency of the wea- 
ther, to declare the names of those who possessed 
heretical books, or to tell how often the u Bush- 
preacher," as they called Christian David, had 
been with them, and who had attended his meet- 
ings. Some were condemned to hard labour in 
irons for several years ; others, who had more 
boldly confessed the Lord Jesus, remained in 
prison to the end of their days ; and others were 
condemned by the magistrates to pay very 
exorbitant fines. This last sort of punishment 
fell most heavily upon the Nitschmanns and the 



INCREASE AT HE RUN HUT, 1722—1727. 199 



Schneiders. One of the former had his house 
razed to the ground for having lodged a pro- 
testant. 

In a word, their foes left nothing untried in 
order to draw the followers of the truth away 
from their faith; until at length the Lord almost 
miraculously opened a way for their escape. 
David Nitschmann, the father of young Melchior, 
who died at Pennsylvania in 1758, when he was 
eighty-two years of age, left behind him a very 
particular history of the brethren at this period, 
and of his own imprisonment and wonderful de- 
liverance. We transcribe part of his statement, 
almost word for word, as possessing far more 
interest than any more elaborate style could give. 

One of the principal objects of their enemies 
was to take away from the brethren all the pro- 
testant books they possessed, .and great depre- 
dations of this kind were sometimes committed. 
66 One evening," says Nitschmann, " at Kune- 
walde, when we had just sat down to supper, 
I was surprised at seeing my dear brother, David 
Nitschmann, (who was afterwards the first bishop 
of the brethren,) come in. He had just arrived 
from Zauchtenthal, and told me that there was 
a wonderful man there. I entreated him to stay 
a little, but he would not ; he said he must 
return immediately. I ran after him. Soon 
after I saw some of the brethren at Zauchtenthal, 
with Christian David, whom I did not then know. 
W e at first all remained for some time in silence ; 
then he withdrew for a few moments into an ad- 
joining roo/n; and when he returned, we kneeled 
down together to pray. We then sat down, and 



200 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 

he read the fifth chapter of Matthew, and spoke 
upon the beatitudes. Every thing he said came 
home to my heart as the truth of God. I imme- 
diately resolved to devote myself entirely to my 
Saviour, whatever it might cost me ; I felt so 
much attached to David, that I could have left 
every thing to follow him. He was then on his 
way to Teschen, to see the abbe Steinmetz. When 
I returned home, I related to my children what he 
had said to us ; they were all much interested by 
it, and had a great desire to see him. He soon 
returned from Teschen, and we had another in- 
terview. My son Melchior sat near him. A 
great many people were present, and every one 
seemed melted to repentance, just as when Peter 
preached the gospel to Cornelius. From that 
moment a great revival took place. We met 
three times in the week, the number of hearers 
increasing every day. At the end of a few weeks 
we were forbidden to assemble together, under 
pain of being fined a hundred crowns, and even 
of corporal punishment. Notwithstanding this, 
we met together one Lord's day afternoon, at two 
o'clock. There were more than 150 persons 
present, and my house was full." 

On this occasion their enemies again came 
upon them with great force, for they feared the 
people. As they entered the place, the bre- 
thren began to sing, with a clear and strong 
voice, Luther's celebrated hymn — 

" If the whole world with devils swarmed, 

That threatened us to swallow, 
We will not fear, for we are armed, 

And victory must follow. 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 201 



We dare the devil's might, 
His malice, craft, and spite ; 
Though he may us assail, 
He never shall prevail: 

The word of God shall conquer." 

The officer demanded silence, when they re- 
peated the verse a second and third time, which 
struck him with such terror, that he ran away, 
leaving behind him a number of books he had 
collected. 

The next day twenty heads of families were 
summoned before the magistrates, and thrown 
into different prisons. Young Melchior Nitsch- 
mann was deprived of food for several days, and 
then bound with cords so tightly, that the blood 
burst from his mouth and nose, and the pores of 
his body. Nitschmann, senior, was imprisoned 
with two other brethren, and left to want the 
common necessaries of life for three days. When 
they were released, they were forbidden to con- 
tinue the meetings under the severest penalties. 

" A few weeks after this," Nitschmann ob- 
serves, " the authorities sent an officer to make 
inquiry into the matter. I was cited alone, in 
the capacity of burgomaster, when they de- 
manded of me what this tumult was, and why 
we had not obeyed their express orders not to 
meet again. On this I replied, that we had met 
together, not as the people of the world generally 
did on the Lord's day, to game and drink at the 
alehouse, to abuse and fight one another, but to 
adore and pray to our Saviour. ' It is the devil 
you prayed to,' said the president. I told him, 
I did not think so, for the devil never led men 



202 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 



to do good, but to do evil. Although the judges 
blasphemed in a dreadful manner, the Lord so 
powerfully assisted me, that I was suffered to 
return home in safety. 

" Three months afterwards the magistrate of 
the place arrived, and began to harass us. We 
were put to the torture, chained together two 
by two for a long time, and condemned to pay 
a fine of a hundred crowns. At the end of a 
fortnight he departed. Two months afterwards 
the consistory sent two commissaries to examine 
us. When I presented to them my confession 
of faith, they called me an arch heretic, and 
said they would deliver me up to justice. I was 
then removed to another prison for four clays 
and three nights. When the examination was 
over we were again shut up, chained two by 
two, but I was put in irons alone." 

David Nitschmann having one day found his 
irons unlocked, he and David Schneider escaped 
from prison and left the country. Xitschmann, 
with his wife and two children, reached Herrn- 
hut in safety ; Schneider and his family settled 
at first in Silesia, and did not join the brethren 
till ten years afterwards. 

As soon as the escape of the prisoners was 
discovered, their wives were ordered to send some 
one to fetch them back. David Hickel was 
sent, who returned some days after without find- 
ing them. The judge ordered him to be imme- 
diately committed to prison, and told him he 
should be hanged, for aiding the escape of his 
brethren. " That/' said he coolly, " is as God 
wills it ; if he does not purpose it, it will not 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722— 1727- 203 

be." They thrust him into a cold, dark hole, 
where he remained three days without any thing* 
to eat or drink. He was then brought before 
the judge, half dead with cold, to tell what 
he knew of the two men who had escaped. As 
he persisted in declaring that he knew nothing 
about them, they put him in a warmer place, 
where they gave him a piece of coarse bread, and 
some dirty water, charging the jailer to watch 
him carefully. This appeared to him, he tells 
us, like an intimation from God to make his 
escape. He opened the door softly, saw the 
sentinels placed in such a way that he could 
pass them without being perceived, by the back 
gate, into the garden, and thence into the vil- 
lage. He walked out in broad day, took leave 
of some of his brethren, set off in haste for 
Saxony, and arrived safely at Hernnhut. 

David Nitschmann, jun. was intimately ac- 
• quainted with four other brethren, two of the 
same name with himself, a person of the name 
of Zeisberger, and John Toeltschig. These five 
young men belonged to the most considerable 
families in the place ; they were full of the spirit 
of God, and closely united in contending for the 
faith ; they constantly travelled the country, 
and were ready to endure every thing for the 
sake of the gospel. When, however, they saw 
that they could not long resist the rage of their 
enemies, and preserve their liberty of conscience 
in their own country, they resolved to emigrate 
on the first opportunity. Soon after the meet- 
ing we have mentioned, they were cited before 
the magistrates, when the judge (the father of 



204 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722 — 1727. 

young Tceltschig) prohibited thern from holding 
any more meetings under the severest penalties, 
advising them rather to go to the alehouse, to 
dances, and other amusements. He added, that 
they must not dare to think of emigrating ; that 
the magistrates had long arms, and could soon 
reach them. The consequence was, that they 
determined to quit the country immediately, 
which they did the next night at ten o'clock. 
Remembering that the Saviour had not even a 
place wherein to lay his head, they set out with 
joy, although they carried nothing with them, 
and knew not whither they were going ; being de- 
sirous only of gaining their liberty, and saving 
their souls. Coming to a meadow outside of the 
town, they fell on their knees, prayed for Zauch- 
tenthal and for the whole country, and com- 
mended themselves and their brethren to the care 
of the Lord. They then sang a hymn, which 
their ancestors had sung a hundred years ago, 
in like circumstances. 

" Bless'd be the day, when I must roam, 
Far from my country, friends, and home, 

An exile poor and mean ; 
My father's God will be my Guide, 
Will angel-guards for me provide, 

My soul in dangers screen. 

" Himself will lead me to a spot, 
Where, all my cares and griefs forgot, 

I shall enjoy sweet rest. 
As pants for cooling streams the hart, 
I languish for my heavenly part, 

For God, my refuge blest." 

In order to avoid interruption, they took the 
cross-roads over the mountains, and after endur- 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 205 

ing many difficulties and dangers, they reached 
Niederwiese, where they were most affection- 
ately received by the pastor, Schwedler. He 
related to them the history of Wickliffe, Huss, 
Jerome of Prague, Amos Commenius, and their 
more immediate ancestors ; congratulated them 
on their descent from such an illustrious race of 
martyrs and confessors of the truth; encouraged 
them by his benedictions and prayers; and, when 
they departed, furnished them with a guide, and 
recommendatory letters to christian friends who 
resided in the towns through which they were 
to pass. 

They arrived in the neighbourhood of Ber- 
tholdsdorf on the 12th of May. Rothe, the 
pastor, received them at first rather coldly, ac- 
cording to his custom ; but having carefully 
questioned them, and finding they were young 
men who had left considerable possessions for 
the sake of Christ, he began to speak to them 
with great joy upon the words of the apostle : 
" When Moses was come to years, he refused to 
be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter/' &c. 
applying the text to them and their emigration. 
He then conducted them to Herrnhut. 

The day of their arrival was a very remarkable 
day in the history of the brethren, on account 
of several events which occurred at that date, 
so that Zinzendorf used to call it the critical 
day. We have already mentioned the intention 
he had formed of building a large house for the 
three establishments he designed to found ; the 
first stone of this house was laid on this day. 
Count Zinzendorf, the countess, the pastor 

T 



206 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722 — 1727. 



Schceffer, and other friends, had just arrived at 
the spot, in order to assist at this solemn service, 
when the five brethren from Moravia made their 
appearance. They were presented to the count, 
with a letter of recommendation from the pastor 
Schwedler ; but he, being engaged with other 
matters, received them with much apparent 
coldness. They however went with the rest to 
the place appointed for the new building. 

The count delivered a striking discourse on 
the purpose for which the house was designed, 
and among other things said, that if the build- 
ing did not answer the end for which he had 
erected it, namely, the glory of God, he wished 
the Lord would destroy it, or consume it by fire 
from heaven. Watteville, whose heart had 
been peculiarly affected during the whole day, 
fell on his knees upon the foundation stone, and 
poured out a most fervent prayer, in which he 
laid open all the feelings, hopes, and resolutions 
which filled his soul : this prayer produced an 
extraordinary effect upon the hearers. The sing- 
ing of Te Deum closed the ceremony. Watte- 
ville placed under the foundation-stone what 
remaining jewels he had, especially a ring, 
which had passed seven times through the fire, 
probably intending it as a token that the vanity 
of the world must now be for ever buried. 

After the service was over, the countess said 
to Watteville, " You have promised much ; if 
one half is fulfilled, it will be beyond our ex- 
pectations. " Many times afterwards did the 
count declare that he never in his life heard any 
thing so moving as the prayer which Watteville 



INCREASE AT HEKRNHUT, 1722 — 1727- 207 

then offered, and that he dated from it the rich 
effusion of Divine grace, which was subsequently 
bestowed upon the brethren. The five newly 
arrived emigrants experienced a kind of sacred 
terror, at hearing the solemn words uttered by 
the count and Watteville ; and the whole of this 
scene, which they had in so unexpected a man- 
ner been called to witness, affected them so 
deeply, that they said in their hearts, " This is 
the house of God; here we will take up our 
abode. " They accordingly fixed their residence 
there, and several of their friends following them, 
at short intervals, their arrival proved one of the 
most striking events of this remarkable epoch ; 
for these brethren brought with them the laws of 
their ancient church, its spirit, its blessings, and 
its promises, to which the Lord was about to 
give a still more glorious development. 

These five brethren, in fact, were the first 
who, almost immediately upon their arrival, in- 
sisted on the necessity of returning to the full 
vigour of that ancient discipline which had been 
so zealously maintained by their ancestors. By 
their means the Lord gave to the brethren's 
church that form which it now possesses as a dis- 
tinct church. But count Zinzendorf long wished 
the new colony to unite with the Lutheran com- 
munity; the pastor Rothe disagreed with the 
brethren, when they formed a separate church ; 
and it was only by persevering efforts, and pain- 
ful struggles, that the church of Herrnhut assumed 
the independent form which it now retains. 

These brethren also were all personally distin- 
guished in the church, by their labours or their 



208 INCREASE AT HERHNHUT, 1722 — 1727. 

sufferings. One of the David Nitschmanns, re- 
turning into Moravia to visit his father, was 
seized and committed to prison at Olmutz, -where 
he died, on the 5th of April, 1729. The other 
of the same name went out, in 1732, with Leo- 
nard Dober, on the first mission of the brethren 
among the heathen, (to the negroes of St. Tho- 
mas,) and was also ordained first bishop of the 
brethren's renewed church, in 1735. Of this 
man Zinzendorf says, " His true conversion to 
God, his simple and upright conversation, the 
respect which he enjoyed even with men of the 
world, the indefatigable spirit with which he 
was animated, the happy and singular talent 
which he possessed for edifying the churches, 
his first effort among the heathen, which God 
has since that time so abundantly blessed, all 
pointed him out as a most suitable person for 
the bishopric of the ancient brethren, which was 
then to be restored." 

While they were erecting the building, fresh 
refugees were constantly arriving, who were 
employed as stone-cutters, masons, carpenters, 
joiners, glaziers, potters, bricklayers, &c. The 
institution for young noblemen was opened in 
1725, under the direction of several persons of 
rank. Some parts of the building were after- 
wards devoted to other uses, and for thirty-two 
years the hall was used as a meeting-place for 
the church of Herrnhut. 

The persecution still raged in Moravia, and as 
the brethren were required to take an oath to 
renounce their faith, to remain in the country, 
and to unite with the romish church, the be- 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 209 

lievers made every effort to escape from this op- 
pression by leaving the place. Thus again were 
the faithful distinguished from those who only 
believe for a time. 

Those who left the country only for consci- 
ence' sake, freely forsaking their relations, 
friends, and property, in general escaped safely, 
and were often delivered from their prisons in a 
most wonderful manner. Several even, who did 
not leave at that time, found means a short time 
after to join their friends, although they were 
watched with the greatest strictness. But those 
who sold their goods, and wished to carry away 
the money, or to take their property with them, 
were often arrested on the route and sent back, 
while others were ill-treated by robbers, and 
plundered of all that they had. 

John Tanneberger was born at Zauchtenthal, 
and brought up from his infancy in the know- 
ledge of the gospel. On the visit of Christian 
David, in 1723, the serious impressions which 
he had received in early life, were powerfully 
revived. As he was known to belong to the 
brethren, and the five brethren before men- 
tioned had just escaped, he was summoned be- 
fore the magistrates ; and although he was 
entirely ignorant of the matter, they kept him 
imprisoned for a week in an out-house, during 
a severe frost, without any thing to eat, but 
what his friends brought him by stealth. When 
he was afterwards released, and some fresh emi- 
grations took place, he was again cited with se- 
veral other brethren ; their enemies threw them 
all into a noisome dungeon, from which they 
t 2 



210 INCREASE AT IlEURNHUT, 1722 — 1727. 

brought them, and yoked them two by two to a 
cart, or employed them singly in some other 
kind of hard labour with logs fastened to their 
legs. All these sufferings being insufficient to 
turn them from the faith, their enemies were dis- 
heartened, and sent them home for a time ; but 
soon after they received an intimation, that next 
day they would be forced to abjure their faith. 
Tanneberger then determined to leave every 
thing, and departed that very night, with his 
wife, and a child about eighteen months old. 
He imparted his design to a few brethren, who 
united with him, and they set off in the night, 
a,bout twelve persons in all. Their journey was 
often very painful ; but the Lord was with them, 
and they reached Herrnhut.in safety. 

David Weber and Thomas Fischer, after be- 
ing kept in prison a long time, and constantly 
refusing to abjure, were condemned to the gal- 
leys. They however leaped out of a window 
without either of them being hurt, although it 
was from a great height, and ran home, where 
they found their families ready to depart. They 
immediately fled, leaving a considerable property 
behind them, and arrived at Herrnhut without 
any obstacle. 

Andrew Beyer was shut up in prison at Kune- 
walde for more than a year, and tortured, because 
he would not give up his faith or his connexion 
with the brethren ; but his persecutors could not 
prevail ; they therefore commanded him to be 
loaded with irons, and cast into a dark and damp 
dungeon. The day on which his sentence \yas to 
have been executed, David Fritsch, who was in 



INCREASE AT HER RN HUT, 1722 — 1727. 211 



the same prison, happened to push against the 
door, and the great chain, which was stretched 
across the outside, gave way. They opened the 
door, and seeing no sentinels, went home, took 
their wives and children, one of them only six 
months old, and fled. After many perils and pri- 
vations, they also safely arrived at Hernnhut. 

Another brother, named John Nitschmann, 
who had already lived some time at Herrnhut, 
returned into Moravia to fetch his sister. He 
succeeded ; and one of his brothers, who had re- 
mained behind, was on the point of being seized 
by the officers of justice, who came to search 
the house, and found some books which would 
have caused his condemnation. As soon as they 
were gone, therefore, he fled, and on being pur- 
sued, leaped over a hedge, and hid himself in 
a ditch. His pursuers reached the spot, and 
one of them also jumped over the hedge and 
passed by the ditch without perceiving him, 
though it was day-time, and he had searched the 
place for a long time. Nitschmann heard them 
cry out repeatedly, " He must be here." Weary 
of the search, they at last returned to the village; 
he then got out of the ditch, and hid himself 
till the evening in a barn, when he continued 
his journey without further hinderance, and 
arrived at Herrnhut. 

A company of about twenty persons, who had 
assembled from different places, were not so 
successful. Having determined to depart on a 
certain day, they secretly sold all they possess- 
ed, and set off on some wagons, with their monev 
and whatever else they had. When they had 



212 INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722 — 1727. 



proceeded about thirty leagues, they were arrested 
at Schweidnitz, in Silesia, which then belonged to 
the emperor of Austria, and committed to pri- 
son. Only one of the company escaped, a lad 
of fourteen years old, and he arrived at Herrnhut 
in the middle of winter, after encountering many 
severe hardships. The rest were sent back to 
Moravia. 

Thus was Herrnhut increasing in population 
and importance daily. And yet it was by no means 
easy to gain admission ; for, as no doubt was 
entertained that the authorities of Moravia would 
at length call them to account for granting an 
asylum to so many refugees, every new comer 
was brought before the civil authorities of the 
place, and strictly examined as to the motives 
which brought him thither. If they found that 
he was influenced by temporal views and per- 
sonal considerations, and not by the love of the 
truth alone, they gave him a few days' rest, and 
then dismissed him with a little money for his 
journey, and a request to the magistrates of his 
country to treat him kindly. For this reason, 
too, the count strictly enjoined all the inhabi- 
tants of Herrnhut not to return into Moravia, to 
induce any others to leave the country. But 
notwithstanding all these precautions, the emi- 
grations continued for eight or ten years longer. 
Christian David especially did not cease his en- 
deavours, in spite of all prohibitions. He was 
strongly persuaded that in this matter he was 
an instrument in the hands of God, and all ad- 
vice and orders to the contrary were perfectly 
useless. Others also of the brethren, from time to 



INCREASE AT HERRNHUT, 1722—1727. 213 



time, escaped from Herrnhut, to go and rescue 
their most intimate friends from bondage. 

Among the interesting occurrences at Herrn- 
hut, during this period, which may serve to show 
the lively religious feeling that prevailed there, 
we must not forget to mention the visit of the 
famous Schwedler, the minister who received the 
five young emigrants with so much warmth of 
affection : this was in 1725. He preached a dis- 
course at Hennersdorf, which lasted from nine 
in the morning till two in the afternoon, and we 
are told that he was accustomed to preach even 
longer in his own parish of Niederwiese. It 
often happened, in consequence of the number 
of hearers thronging to his church in successive 
groups, that he began the service at five or six 
o'clock in the morning, and did not close till two 
or three in the afternoon. In the several pauses 
of his discourse, they sung a few verses of a hymn, 
during which there was a change of the auditory ; 
but excepting a few short intervals, he did not 
cease preaching during the whole of the time. 

A spirit of inquiry was stirred up in all the 
country round Herrnhut, and the excitement w T as 
continually increasing. The settlement grew 
more numerous every day ; for the refugees from 
Moravia were not the only persons who resorted 
to it, persons of different places and commu- 
nions flocked thither, and a great w T ork was evi- 
dently in preparation. 



CHAPTER X. 



INTERNAL DISSENSIONS AT HERRNHUT, AND 
THEIR SETTLEMENT ON THE 12l'H OF MAY, 
1727 ; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE REVIVAL 
THAT FOLLOWED. 

Besides the Moravian emigrants, certain other 
persons, chiefly of the Lutheran church, settled 
at Herrnhut. Differences of sentiment existed 
among them on some doctrinal points, and gave 
rise to warm disputes, which sadly disturbed the 
peace and harmony of the community. There 
was also another source of dissatisfaction : the 
brethren had hitherto conformed to the worship 
and communion of the Lutheran church at Ber- 
tholdsdorf ; but they now began to desire a 
more spiritual worship, and a purer discipline, 
and to be formed into a distinct society or church, 
according to the order and regulations used by 
their ancestors. The difficulties which they had 
to encounter, and the dissensions which fol- 
lowed, need not be here particularly detailed. 
It may suffice to state, that almost all the bre- 
thren withdrew for a time from the worship at 
Bertholdsdorf, and an open rupture seemed un- 
avoidable, 

Zinzendorf was much affected by these occur- 
rences. He was not prepared to accede to all 
the demands of the brethren, while on the other 



DISSENSIONS, SETTLEMENT, AND REVIVAL. 215 

hand, he acknowledged the reasonableness of 
many of them. In the spring of 1727, he ob- 
tained leave of absence from Dresden, in order 
to effect a reconciliation. He gave himself en- 
tirely to this object. The management of his 
temporal concerns was committed to the coun- 
tess, while he occupied an apartment prepared 
for him at Herrnhut, and spent his whole time in 
conference and prayer with the brethren. He 
at length succeeded in effecting a compromise 
between the parties. The brethren engaged to 
return to Bertholdsdorf, and place themselves 
again under the ministry and pastoral care of 
Rothe, on condition that they should be allowed 
to manage their own spiritual affairs, as a distinct 
society. For this latter purpose, the count, as- 
sisted by Rothe and others, drew up a set of re- 
gulations, called " Statutes of the Congregation/' 
embodying those moral and spiritual principles, 
the recognition of which may be expected to 
promote edification and prosperity. 

As soon as it was settled that the brethren 
should have an independent discipline, they con- 
sented to return to the public worship at Ber- 
tholdsdorf, and to the communion of the Lutheran 
church, reserving to themselves the liberty of 
acting in future as they should judge right. The 
12th of May, 1727, was then fixed upon for the 
public reading and acknowledgement of the 
statutes. When they met together, the count 
delivered an appropriate and powerful discourse, 
on the evils of dissension, and the design of the 
statutes. These were then read, and the inha- 
bitants being called upon to give their assent, by 



216 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



stretching out the right hand, and to promise 
that they would either conform to them or quit 
the place, there was not a single dissentient. 
The village of Herrnhut then consisted of about 
three hundred brethren and sisters, one half of 
whom were Moravian refugees. 

We need not here give an exact copy of these 
statutes. A few articles will be sufficient to give 
an idea of the whole : — 

1 . Herrnhut is not to be considered as a rising 
town or village, so much as an establishment for 
the brethren. 

2. A spirit of love towards the children of 
God, of all confessions, should be constantly 
maintained; not undertaking to judge of, or enter 
into any dispute or controversy with persons of 
contrary sentiments, but seeking to preserve 
purity, simplicity, and the savour of the gospel. 

3. He is not a brother who does not hold that 
the grace of God in Christ Jesus alone can ef- 
fectually influence him, and that he stands in 
need of this grace every moment ; and that the 
highest degree of holiness, if it were even attain- 
able, without Christ and his meritorious inter- 
cession, is defilement in the sight of God, and 
can be acceptable only in the Lord Jesus. He 
is not a true brother, who does not prove by his 
conduct that he really desires to be delivered 
from sin, to become every day more and more 
like God, more detached from all sinful affec- 
tions, vanity, and self-will, and to walk as Jesus 
walked, and to bear his reproach. But he who 
holds the faith of Jesus in a pure conscience, 
though he may not be wholly free from party 



A^D ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 



spirit, fanaticism, or error, shall never be des- 
pised among us. Even if he should leave us, 
far from forsaking him, we will regard him as 
the object of our care, forbearing with him in 
love, kindness, and patience. 

4. Those who are willing to comply with the 
forms of worship, as they exist amongst us, should 
not regard human institutions as unalterable, 
but as matters in which we should use our chris- 
tian liberty, in all humility, love, and submission 
one to another, waiting the direction of the Lord 
as to the time of making any changes. And in 
changes of this kind that may take place among 
us, we ought to do every thing in simplicity, and 
for mutual edification. 

5. No one, who has been unaccustomed to 
our profession, or who may disapprove of some 
things in it, shall be compelled by the authorities 
to conform; but, in order to prevent disorder, 
no person shall come to the Lord's supper at 
Bertholdsdorf unless he be well known and ap- 
proved by the pastor. 

6. The church or commune of Herrnhut con- 
sents to make use of the liturgy of Bertholdsdorf. 
Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Herrnhut still 
reserve to themselves their christian liberty, their 
outward bond of union, and every thing held by 
the ancient brethren of Bohemia and Moravia. 
For the maintenance of this liberty they commit 
themselves to the Divine protection. 

The reconciliation being thus effected, to the 
joy of all parties, Zinzendorf and the church 
renewed their covenant of fidelity to the Lord, 
All the brethren promised, both by word and by 



218 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



stretching out their hands, to give themselves 
entirely to the Saviour ; testifying a lively shame 
on account of their religious disputes, and pro- 
mising to bury them for ever. Rejecting all the 
insinuations of obstinacy, jealousy, and the spirit 
of licentiousness, they became poor in spirit; no 
one any longer wished to set himself above his 
brethren, and all desired to be guided in all 
things by the Holy Spirit. In a word, their 
hearts were this day not only convinced and 
persuaded, but carried away and overwhelmed 
by the powerful effusion of Divine grace. 

On the anniversary of this day, in 1748, the 
count expresses himself in these terms : "Twenty- 
one years ago the great question was depending, 
whether Herrnhut should realize the idea of a 
true church, and humbly take the station as- 
signed to it, or whether it should form a new 
sect. But the powerful operation of the Holy 
Spirit decided the point. From that time we 
began to occupy ourselves in our own spiritual 
interests, and to lay aside all the contentions 
which had long agitated us. What our Saviour 
did for us, from that day to the winter of the 
same year, no tongue can express. The whole 
of Herrnhut then presented an image of the ta- 
bernacle of God amongst men : from the 12th 
of May to the 13th of August, nothing was heard 
but gladness and triumph ; and from that time 
the excitement subsided into a Divine sabbath of 
rest." 

Having pledged themselves to the observance 
of the statutes, the brethren proceeded to the 
establishment of their private discipline. They 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 



219 



began by choosing from among themselves twelve 
elders, to watch over the fulfilment of the en- 
gagements into which they had entered. 

Before they proceeded to this election they 
were reminded, that the persons destined for the 
office should have " a good report of those that are 
without, and of the truth itself," that they ought 
to entertain a prejudice against no one, nor 
should any have a reasonable prejudice against 
them, since it was necessary for the whole church 
to respect, love, and obey them as their spiritual 
guides. 

It was generally agreed that these qualifica- 
tions were eminently possessed by Christian 
David, and his name was placed at the head of 
the list. He had largely participated in the 
feelings of dissatisfaction which recently pre- 
vailed ; but he was of a humble mind, and easily 
reconciled. The judicious advice he gave the 
brethren was very useful in guiding their choice 
on the present occasion. 

The following is a list of the names of the 
elders, with the trades, at which some of them 
continued to work during their ministry : — 

Christian David, carpenter; George Nitsch-- 
mann, carpenter, sixty years of age ; Melchior 
Nitschmann, weaver, twenty-five years old ; 
Christopher Hoffmann ; Augustus and Jacob 
Neisser, cutlers ; David Nitschmann, carpenter ; 
Andrew Beyer ; John Nitschmann ; David 
Nitschmann, shoemaker ; David Quitt and 
Francis Kuhnel, weavers. 

The elders agreed to choose by lot four of 
their number, and to commit to them the general 



220 



DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



superintendence of affairs. The first lot fell 
upon Christian David, the first evangelist of 
the Moravian brethren at this period ; the se- 
cond on John Nitschmann, the oldest man at 
Herrnhut ; the third on C. Hoffmann, who was 
succeeded by another brother during the same 
year ; and the fourth on JMelchior Nitschmann, 
jun. whose nomination was attended with ex- 
traordinary circumstances ; the lot was cast 
three times, on account of his youth, and as 
often his name was returned, so that the church, 
filled with astonishment, could make no further 
objection. 

Zinzendorf, speaking of this worthy man, 
writes thus: " He succeeded in every thing that 
he undertook. To heal divisions, to bring back 
the wandering, to subdue the factious, to awaken 
and to guide souls, to exhort and reprove, to 
inspire triflers with godly sorrow, to comfort the 
penitent, to love the brethren and devote his life 
to their service, was the business of his life. He 
prayed most fervently, and never grew weary of 
secret prayer ; he was diligent in his work, 
obedient to his master in all things, although he 
-was much tried in his worldly affairs. He had 
a quick understanding, and knew how to use it 
with the greatest modesty : he was cheerful 
without being light, humble without meanness, 
compassionate but not weak, friendly but not 
fawning, thaughtful without affectation, quick 
without rashness, poor but not idle, simple but 
not foolish, rich in knowledge without pretend- 
ing to know any thing ; in a word, he laboured 
30 be in the world such as his Lord himself had 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 



221 



been/' The count was very fond of him, but 
though Melchior perceived it, he was not on that 
account lifted up ; he loved and respected all 
his brethren, and was accustomed to say that 
his heart leaped for joy at the sight of any one 
who belonged to Christ. 

Besides these elders, they nominated count 
Zinzendorf warden of the congregation ; and 
Watteville was associated with him in the dis- 
charge of the duties of this office. It was their 
duty, among other things, to see that every brother 
occupied his proper place in the church, accord- 
ing to his gifts ; for at this time fresh appoint- 
ments were made to all the offices of teachers, 
aids, inspectors, monitors, nurses of the sick, 
almoners, servants, &c. and, according to the 
custom of the ancient brethren, females were 
nominated to the same offices among the sisters. 
There were frequent meetings of the elders, in 
order to consult on matters relating to the 
church, which were called the conferences of the 
elders. At these meetings, when they had ma- 
turely weighed every thing with a sincere desire 
to know the will of God, and doubts still re- 
mained, they appealed to the decision of the lot. 
The other brethren and sisters bearing office in 
the church were often called together to similar 
conferences. 

On the 21st of May they established a watch 
in the place. Every inhabitant, from the age of 
16 to 60, was in his turn called to discharge 
this duty, which was accompanied with the sing- 
ing of appropriate hymns. In order to mark the 
hour, the count composed a watch-hymn, which 
u 2 



222 



DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



was introduced on the 6th of July, and which has 
a stanza adapted to every hour of the night. 

At the same time the brethren held more fre- 
quent meetings for mutual edification. At five 
in the morning they assembled to read a portion 
of the scriptures, when oftentimes some brother 
engaged in prayer, or made a few observations; 
at half-past eight they had another service of 
this kind, for sick and aged persons. On the 
Lord's day, the morning and afternoon services 
were held at Bertholdsdorf, the latter of which 
they afterwards changed for a meeting at Herrn- 
hut, called the service for strangers, of which we 
shall take further notice ; in the evening, at half- 
past eight or nine in the summer season, they 
assembled again in the great hall, and in winter 
in one of the count's apartments, to hold the 
singing meeting ; at this they also received ac- 
counts of the progress of the kingdom of God, 
and prayed for its prosperity. 

As the powerful preaching of Rothe drew a 
vast number of strangers to Bertholdsdorf and 
Herrnhut every Lord's day, they resolved to 
repeat at Herrnhut, in the afternoon, the sub- 
stance of the morning sermon at Bertholdsdorf. 
This gave rise to the service for strangers, of 
which we have just spoken. 

These were the arrangements made after the 
restoration of harmony on the 12th of May. From 
that time there was a wonderful effusion of the 
Spirit on this happy church, until August the 
13th, when the measure of Divine grace seemed 
absolutely overflowing. On the 2d of July, ten 
solemn services were held at Bertholdsdorf and 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 223 

Herrnhut; Schwedler preached at Bertholds- 
dorf. As the number of hearers was so great, 
that more than 1000 persons could not get into 
the church. Rothe preached at the same time 
in the burial-ground. In the afternoon, the 
same scene was repeated at Herrnhut : Schwed- 
ler and SchoefFer preached in the open air, on 
a platform erected for the purpose by Christian 
David, while the count held three meetings 
in succession in the great hall, which was twice 
filled with a fresh auditory. 

After this, another meeting was held for con- 
versation on what had passed. A brother on 
this occasion said, " Truly we have had an 
apostolic day, we must now expect apostolic 
sufferings." 

Every day brought some new blessing. The 
count continued to labour for every one : for 
many days he applied himself to the visiting of 
the brethren ; he took one and another with 
him, in proportion to the confidence they had in 
one another ; and this was the beginning of 
those little associations which were afterwards 
called " bands." These consisted of two or three 
persons, who met together privately, to converse 
on their spiritual state, to exhort, and reprove, 
and pray for each other. The count availed 
himself of the assistance of other labourers in the 
church, in classing the brethren and sisters; 
and this served as a new bond of union amongst 
them, and a means of promoting their growth in 
grace. And as they often changed the brethren 
and sisters of one band for those of another, 
there was not one of them bat was thus brought 



224 



DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



into contact with the rest, and his or her gifts made 
subservient to the benefit of the whole body. 

On the 22nd of July, the brethren Melchior 
Nitschmann, Schmidt, Dober, Christian David, 
AugustinNeisser,and several others, agreed to re- 
pair to the Hutberg, a hill near Herrnhut, in order 
to pour out their sotfls to God in prayer and sing- 
ing. This new association was the means of 
producing a great revival. On the same day 
the count set out for Silesia. Before his de- 
parture several of the brethren engaged to 
devote themselves to the advancement of the 
revival, especially by holding meetings for prayer 
and thanksgiving. They applied themselves 
with diligence to the work ; but soon found 
it better to change the meetings for christian 
conferences, in which every one might, accord- 
ing to the measure of his faith and experience, 
give his opinion of some text of scripture ap- 
pointed for the purpose. 

As Christian David, Melchior Nitschmann, 
and Martin Dober were one day conversing on 
the best means of conducting the meetings for 
general conversation, the first proposed that, in 
order to promote love, they should read the first 
epistle of John : a great blessing accompanied 
this exercise. The declarations of affection, to 
which the reading gave rise, tended powerfully 
to increase the confidence and mutual love of 
the brethren, and the work of God made extra- 
ordinary progress. All remaining suspicion, 
envy, and offence ceased ; all hearts were lifted 
up to heaven, and consequently more closely 
united ; their own wills were absorbed in the 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 



225 



desire of the general good ; the sparks of 
brotherly love burst into a flame, and every 
thing tended to feed the excitement. At length 
some letters from the count still further pro- 
moted the impression, and on the 4th of August 
he arrived from Silesia, bringing with him most 
joyful tidings, and, what was particularly accept- 
able, a translation of The History of the Brethren 
of Bohemia and Moravia, extracted from Com- 
menius' large history, which the count had for- 
merly read, and which had overcome the reluct- 
ance he for some time felt at restoring to the 
brethren their ancient discipline. 

For a considerable time not a day passed 
in which the church did not experience some pe- 
culiar marks of Divine favour. On the 5th of 
August the count, the president of the church, 
spent the whole night, with twelve or fourteen 
brethren, in visiting Hennersdorf and Bertholds- 
clorf. At midnight they held a numerous prayer 
meeting on the Hutberg. On the 6th, and every 
following day in that week, the power of God 
was wonderfully manifested at their singing 
meetings. 

On Lord's day, the 10th of August, the 
minister Rothe was seized, in the midst of the 
assembly at Herrnhut, with an unusual im- 
pulse. He threw T himself upon his knees be- 
fore God, and the whole assembly prostrated 
themselves with him under the same emotions. 
An uninterrupted course of singing and prayer, 
weeping and supplication, continued till mid- 
night. All hearts were united, all difficulties 
removed ; and those of the brethren who had 



226 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 

refused to participate in the general communion 
began to relent. Rothe spent the night at Herrn- 
hut, and the next day wrote a most animated 
letter to the count, in which he announced his 
intention of administering the Lord's supper on 
the friday following, the 13th, and invited all 
the inhabitants of Herrnhut to unite with him. 

As this was the first communion since the 
restoration of union; after they had been so long 
separated, it was resolved to observe it with more 
than usual attention and solemnity, and to make 
it the occasion of stirring up their souls to the 
cultivation of greater fellowship with their Sa- 
viour. They determined seriously to examine 
all who presented themselves at the table for the 
first time, whether young or old, and not to grant 
them admission unless the result of this examina- 
tion were satisfactory. For this purpose, they 
drew up a series of questions, to which they were 
requested to give answers before the whole church. 
Two young sisters were received on this occasion : 
they first had a serious conversation with the 
count, then with the principal of the female 
elders, and were afterwards presented to the pas- 
tor Rothe, who pronounced them fit to partake 
of the Lord's supper. 

On the 12th the count visited Herrnhut, as war- 
den, in order to establish their minds in love, and 
prepare them for the communion of the next day. 
In the evening all the brethren and sisters signed 
the statutes ; and the two sisters before men- 
tioned replied, in the presence of the whole 
church, to the questions put to them ; these ser- 
vices were blessed to the conversion of several 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 227 

souls, and most deeply affected the whole assem- 
bly. The two sisters passed the night in prayer. 

The next day the celebration of the Lord's 
supper took place. The following extract, from 
the Herrnhut journal, will show the manner in 
which this memorable day was spent. 

u Before we set out for the church, we had 
a discourse on the nature and design of the Lord's 
supper. On the way, the brethren conversed 
together, and here and there were to be seen little 
companies of two or three in close commu- 
nion, while those who had been offended with 
others, renewed their union with the greatest 
love and faithfulness. At the church all seemed 
to be in expectation of an extraordinary blessing. 
The service commenced by singing the hymn, 
' Unbind me, O my God, from all my bonds and 
fetters;' which was made the means of the con- 
version of an ungodly man in the congregation, 
Then Rothe pronounced a truly apostolic blessing 
on the two sisters who were now admitted to the 
Lord's supper, which was confirmed by the church 
with deep feeling ; after this, the whole assembly 
united in prayer to God, and then sung, c My 
soul before thee prostrate lies/ amidst tears and 
sobs, so that it could scarcely be distinguished 
whether they were weeping or singing. The 
scene was so moving, that the pastor of Henners- 
dorf, who administered the supper, for Rothe 
wished to go to the table of the Lord with the 
church, could hardly tell what he saw, or what 
he heard. 

" After the singing several brethren prayed 
with great power and fervour." 



228 



DISSENSIONS- AND SETTLEMENT, 



The count then, as the president of Herrnhut, 
made his confession in the name of that parish ; 
and a general absolution being pronounced by 
the pastor, according to the Lutheran practice, 
they took the supper of the Lord with inex- 
pressible joy and love. At noon they retired, 
and passed the rest of that day and the following 
in the most delightful peace and happiness. 

We have now arrived at the great crisis of 
this church, and as it is of importance to form 
just ideas of every thing that occurred at this 
period, we shall give the substance of a letter, 
written by Christian David to the count's former 
steward, Heitz, who was still one of his best 
friends. Those interesting and familiar details, 
which are only to be found in letters, serve to 
throw much light upon the internal state of a 
church ; and as that of the brethren presented 
at this time a different appearance in some mea- 
sure to what it assumed ten or fifteen years after- 
wards, it is desirable to take a view of it at 
different periods. In this letter, which is pro- 
bably about the date of 3728, David gives a ge- 
neral view of all that had passed at Herrnhut, 
from 1722 to 1727. He says— 

46 To J. G. Heitz, our beloved brother and fel- 
low elder of the church. 

" The work of the Lord at Herrnhut has ad- 
vanced from the first day until now without in- 
terruption, and with great blessing, in the 
midst of all kinds of trials ; although it may not 
have proceeded altogether according to our views 
and expectations, but according to the eternal 
purposes of the Lord. It has pleased our Sa- 



,\.VD ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 229 

viour to suffer many temptations to assail us, in 
order to purify us, to prove and confirm our elec- 
tion, that we may be presented to him as a chaste 
virgin, and remain eternally united to him. Yes, 
in order that the covenant he has made with us 
may still continue, and his sovereign purpose be 
accomplished in us, all sorts of means were ne- 
cessary, and that one thing should lead on to 
another, until we became by degrees, notwith- 
standing all the efforts of the devil and the world, 
a visible church of God, as we now appear. 

" We have now had full experience that this 
is the true grace of God in which we stand ; for 
it humbles us; gives us peace; sets us free; 
encourages us in all our tribulations; gives us 
patience with the defects and imperfections of 
others; makes us moderate in our words ; ren- 
ders us immoveably proof against the assaults of 
our enemies ; compassionate to the weak* and 
erring, submissive to our superiors ; firm and 
faithful in preaching the gospel ; clear and con- 
nected in our sentiments and discourses ; simple 
in our conduct ; unaffected towards others ; up- 
right and sincere in our dealings with the bre- 
thren ; careful in guiding and teaching souls ; 
frank in reproving sin ; mild in exhorting after 
the example of Christ and his apostles; scru- 
pulous, as if we were under the law, in all 
our outward conduct; free and contented in 
heart; universal and impartial in our love to 
the saints; becoming all things to all men, 
according to the directions of the word of God ; 
and ready to give an answer to every one that 
asks of us a reason of the hope that is in us, 
x 



230 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 

" The chief causes of all that God has per- 
mitted to happen among us, are the following. 
You know that my mind was always desirous of 
knowing all sorts of things, and that several of 
my brethren also were of the same disposition. 
Rothe and others of the brethren did not 
like this ; and thus arose great divisions, which 
brought us into disrepute with many, whose 
confidence we lost ; so that we at last saw the 
necessity of walking with prudence, and that it 
was c better never to eat meat, than to offend 
our weak brother for whom Christ died/ When 
the count perceived these things, and that 
Rothe made no progress, on account of the par- 
tial view of the subject which he had taken, 
having received from the Lord the gift of setting 
every thing in the clearest light, he sent for us 
one by one, and unfolded to us the whole 
economy of God ; how he had spoken to the 
fathers by the prophets, and then manifested 
his Son ; how he had dealt with men before the 
law, under the law, and under the gospel ; how 
far it was necessary to know external things, 
and to experience what is internal, &c. This 
he did for three days, and thus abundantly en- 
couraged us all. The consequence was, that 
peace was restored, and continued about two 
years, during which the church increased con- 
tinually. I went, according to my custom, 
every year into Moravia, to confirm the souls of 
those who secretly knew and sought the Lord. 

" About the same time there was a great re- 
vival in Silesia, and in our neighbourhood. At 
Herrnhut, the enemy was endeavouring to cast 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 231 

some into a deep slumber of carnal security, and 
we were not yet sufficiently experienced to be 
aware of his devices. The first ardour of our 
love was quenched; the new-comers expected 
much charity from those who had preceded 
them, but these had great knowledge and but 
little charity. The former were grieved ; there 
was no longer either order or discipline ; 
Rothe had not the gift of maintaining it, and he 
did not reside among us, neither did the count, 
and besides, he wished to spare Rothe. Things 
were in this state at Herrnhut, in the fourth 
year of our going thither. 

" At this time Mr. Kruger came amongst us, 
a man, as you know, of singular ideas; but, as 
he manifested extraordinary piety, inexperienced 
persons admired him much. Kruger nearly 
divided the congregation. Most of those who 
had been much excited by him, continued in a 
state of indecision, until the time of fiery trial 
came, and Kruger went out of his mind. Then 
all was over. In the meantime we treated one 
another with great bitterness, and led a most 
miserable life. After things had gone on thus 
for three months, and every one had been ena- 
bled, in the midst of all these trials, to judge 
if his hope were well founded or not, the count 
came again to Herrnhut, as he had done two 
years before, full of love and impartiality, to try 
and bring about a reconciliation. The expe- 
rience the count had acquired amongst us, 
during the last four years, enabled him and his 
coadjutors to draw up a code of statutes, con- 
formable to the idea he had formed of a true 
church of God. 



232 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



u After the statutes were finished, twelve el- 
ders were selected to guide the church. — All the 
different offices necessary for the good of the 
church were allotted to the brethren and sisters 
severally. — The hours of devotional exercises 
were fixed : in the morning the brethren, who 
had the gift of teaching, spoke in succession on 
a text of scripture ; in the evening an hour was 
set apart for singing, in which the count also 
explained the passage appointed for the medita- 
tions of the following day. — We have bands for 
men and women, married and single, &c. — We 
have also love feasts, both for the whole church 
and for each of the bands separately. — We have 
particular days for fasting and prayer, in which 
we more particularly put one another in mind 
of the favours of the Lord, and render to him 
our thanksgivings, and pay our vows. — We have 
a watch, which the brethren keep in succession. 
— We have made an arrangement among the bre- 
thren to have continual prayer offered up by the 
church, day and night, in order that the fire may 
be kept perpetually burning upon the altar. — 
We have private meetings. — On the Lord's day, 
at seven in the morning, all the men meet at the 
count's house, when we converse on those things 
that more particularly regard our sex, and our 
duties as husbands, fathers, &c. From eight to 
nine the widows hold a meeting of the same 
kind. We then go to church. In the after- 
noon, from two to three, there is a meeting of 
the unmarried brethren ; from three to four of 
the married women ; from four to five, of the 
unmarried sisters ; from five to half-past five, 
of the orphans. — We all take the Lord's sup- 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 233 

per together, but never with any but those 
whom we consider to be converted persons. — 
We have conferences every day ; on monday, 
with the elders and those who have the care of 
the sick ; on tuesday, with the assistants ; on 
Wednesday, with the teachers ; on thursday, 
with the inspectors ; on friday, with the moni- 
tors ; on Saturday, with the servants. The fe- 
males also have the same offices among them, 
except that of teachers. 

" These, my dear Mr. Heitz, are, in few 
words, our internal arrangements. Here are, at 
Herrnhut, as many as three hundred brethren 
and sisters, some of whom are seeking, and some 
have found rest in the hope of the gospel. — 
Yours faithfully, Christian David." 

A few days after the 13th of August, a re- 
markable revival took place among the children 
at Herrnhut, and Bertholdsdorf. There was at 
Bertholdsdorf a school for young females, mostly 
of noble families, at that time consisting of nine 
pupils from the age of nine to thirteen. The 
count used to visit them every day, and spend 
an hour in conversing with them, but for a long 
time without seeing any positive fruits of con- 
version, as he often lamented to the countess. 
At length, on the 26th of May, 1727, some signs 
of this work appeared among them, after an 
animated conversation which he held with them; 
and, on the 6th of August, the grace of God was 
manifested in a wonderful manner, not only 
among the females of this school, but among 
the children of Herrnhut and Bertholdsdorf gene- 
rally. The occasion of this was the conversion 
x 2 



234 DISSENSIONS AND SETTLEMENT, 



of a young girl, named Kuhnel, who was not 
one of the pupils, but an inhabitant of Herrn- 
hut, and then about eleven years old. While 
she was at home with her relations, she was 
brought to the knowledge of the truth, after 
three days of conviction, and then passed nearly 
the whole of that happy day in proclaiming the 
excellences of her Redeemer, forgetting even to 
take her food. 

About the same time, and probably in conse- 
quence of this awakening at Herrnhut, the Lord 
kindled a similar flame at Bertholdsdorf. The 
count had sent for a schoolmaster, a very sim- 
ple, but pious man, whose labours were greatly 
blessed. On the 18th of August, all the chil- 
dren at the boarding-school w T ere seized with an 
extraordinary impulse of the Spirit, and passed 
the whole night in prayer. From this time a 
constant work of God was going on in the minds 
of the children, in both places. A meeting of 
the children was held, which was very much 
blessed. But on the 29th, from six in the even- 
ing until one o'clock in the morning, the Hutberg 
resounded with the prayers and singing of the 
young females in the neighbourhood, and all 
were much delighted. At the same time the 
boys assembled for prayer in other places. No 
words can express the powerful operation of the 
Holy Spirit upon these children. These were 
truly days of Divine love at Herrnhut, in which 
they forgot every thing but heavenly enjoyments, 
and longed to attain them. 

For an account of the awakening among the 
boys we may refer to the statement given by a 



AND ACCOUNT OF REVIVAL. 235 

brother, who was himself at that time one of 
these children. " We had then," says he, " for 
our master an upright and serious man, who 
had the good of his pupils much at heart. He 
never failed, at the close of the school, to pray 
with us, and commend us to the Lord Jesus, 
and his Spirit, during the time of our amuse- 
ments. At that time Susanna Kuhnel w r as 
awakened, and frequently withdrew into her 
father's garden, especially every evening, to ask 
grace of the Lord, and to seek the salvation of 
her soul, with strong crying and tears. As this 
place was contiguous to the house in which we 
dwelt, and there was nothing but a boarded par- 
tition between us, we could hear her prayers as 
we were going to rest, and as we lay in our 
beds. This made such an impression on us, 
that we could not fall asleep with the same in- 
difference as formerly, and we entreated our 
masters to go out with us to pray. And thus, 
till the end of August, instead of going to sleep 
as usual, we repaired to the boundaries which 
separated the fields, or among the bushes, to 
prostrate ourselves before the Lord, and to beg 
of him to turn us to himself. Our teacher often 
went with us, and when he had ceased praying, 
and was obliged to return, we went again, one 
to this place and another to that, or in pairs, to 
cast ourselves on our knees, and pray in secret. 
I still recollect the places to which we frequently 
resorted, and which we bedewed with our tears." 



CHAPTER XI. 



A VIEW OF THE STATE OF HERRNHUT IN 1727. 

Before we proceed to the recital of the events 
that have occurred since the settlement of the 
church, we shall take a view of the internal 
state of Herrnhut. For this purpose we shall 
be obliged to anticipate some facts, to which we 
may again have occasion to refer. 

Our account will be taken principally from 
the arrangements of discipline which preceded 
or followed the 13th of August, and will include 
some particulars of the four most distinguished 
men of this church, Melchior Nitschmann, Mar- 
tin Linner, Matthew Linner, and Martin Dober. 

I. Arrangements of discipline. The apostle 
Paul distinguishes gifts and offices, which are 
commonly confounded ; and from this circum- 
stance Zinzendorf was led to examine the gifts 
of every member of the church, that he might 
assign to each his proper duties. These different 
offices were, in fact, a division of the pastoral 
functions among several individuals ; they were, 
at the same time, a relief to the actual pastors ; 
and every one of these subordinate helps, by 
applying himself to the improvement of his par- 
ticular gift, was enabled more carefully and 
perfectly to fulfil its design, than a single per- 



STATE OF HERRNHUT IN 1727. 237 



son charged with the whole, and not possessing 
the qualifications necessary for every office. 

" That we ought not," says Zinzendorf, " to 
ay all the duties of the church on one person, 
10 more needs proof, than we need to demon- 
strate that the foot is not to eat, the hand 
to run, or the eyes to hear. 6 God hath set the 
members every one of them in the body, as 
it hath pleased him/ 1 Cor. xii. 18. If, for 
example, we were to set a man naturally mild 
and gentle in his character, to watch over and 
detect the various deceits of the human heart, 
he would be distressed, and a thousand times 
deceived. If, on the other hand, a man of a 
keen mind and harsh disposition were charged 
with the duty of exhortation, there would be no 
end to disputes, and his exhortations would 
either have no effect, or a very bad one. But 
if the former be set to exhort, and the latter 
apply himself to the discernment of spirits, truth 
and love are maintained together. " 

On this principle it was that the following 
arrangements were made : — 

1 . The count, and baron de Watteville as his 
assistant, presided over every thing that was 
done in the church. 

2. Under these presidents were the elders, or 
pastors properly so called, invested with the 
authority which the scriptures assign to this 
calling. Twelve of these, as we have seen, were 
originally chosen, and four selected out of them 
to take the lead in the affairs of the church. 

3. The next under these were called helpers, 
whose duty it was to assist the elders and 



238 A VIEW OE THE STATE 

presidents in every thing that concerned the 
church, and to be as their right hand in all things. 

4. On the inspectors, as their name imports, 
devolved the duty of watching, with strict im- 
partiality, over every occurrence in the church. 
When they perceived any thing inconsistent with 
the spirit of Christ, and the order of the church, 
they were not directly to warn the offender, 
much less were they indiscreetly to publish what 
they had observed ; but they were to tell it in 
confidence to one of the monitors. 

.5. The monitors were persons whose duty it 
was more particularly to administer advice and 
reproof, in a spirit of love and compassion, and 
at the same time with due seriousness. On the 
one hand, they were ever to keep hi view what the 
Saviour expects from his disciples ; and, on the 
other, they were to recollect the weakness of 
their brethren ; that those who had committed 
any fault might receive, without resentment, the 
advice that was affectionately given, and be led 
to repentance and amendment. 

6. The attendants on the sick were appointed 
to visit them every day, to see that they were 
furnished with suitable medicine, and to sit up 
with them by night whenever it was necessary. 
They also endeavoured, by friendly conversa- 
tions, to learn their spiritual state, and to report 
it to the elders. 

7. The almoners were to inquire into the 
wants of the poor, to procure them work, give 
them advice, and when needful, to assist them 
from the poor-box, which was kept with the 
strictest economy. 



OF HERRNHUT IN 1727. 



239 



8. The serving brethren were persons employed 
to attend to the provision for the love feasts, the 
meetings, &c. 

As the separation of the two sexes was a fun- 
damental, and invariable law of the brethren's 
discipline, most of the offices we have mentioned 
were filled by women among their own sex, who 
were excluded from none but public duties. 

The duties of preacher were some years dis- 
charged by the pastor of Bertholdsdorf ; but, in 
the daily meetings at Herrnhut, the private 
brethren were allowed to preach, provided their 
knowledge was scriptural, and they had the 
gifts and unction necessary for edification ; and 
provided they had been called by the church to 
teach and exhort. 

Of the internal arrangements, and different 
forms of worship, we have already spoken on 
different occasions. Some time after this the 
church, both the males and females, having 
been divided into little associations, or classes, 
called choirs, according to the age and circum- 
stances of every individual, a short sermon 
or exhortation was addressed to each of 
them every Lord's day, between the general ser- 
vices. These exhortations were suited to the 
circumstances of each class ; and thus the day 
was sanctified throughout with continual ser- 
vices, suited to the state of the different members 
of the church. 

At first they took the Lord's supper every 
three months ; but the blessings experienced, in 
observing this ordinance, excited a general de- 
sire in the brethren's minds for more frequent 



240 



A VIEW OF THE STATE 



communion, and, after 1731, the church cele- 
brated it every month. A few days before the 
time, the elders and assistants conversed with every 
one of the members who wished to partake; and 
if they found any persons in an unfit state, they 
advised them to abstain for a while. After the 
Lord's supper, the church at Herrnhut used to 
meet in the great hall, and there the brethren 
and sisters separately saluted each other with 
the kiss of charity, which was followed by sing- 
ing hymns expressive of their brotherly love. 

The bands already mentioned, and which were 
sub-divisions of the choirs, were a means of great 
blessing to the church, inasmuch as they accus- 
tomed the brethren to the greatest frankness and 
mutual confidence. They met on certain fixed 
days in the week. Even the children had their 
meetings of this kind, and derived great benefit 
from them. The brethren who presided over 
these bands usually met together on the Lord's 
day, to communicate the observations they had 
made. 

Another means, by which the members of the 
church were still more closely united in its early 
history, was the practice of daily visitation, by 
the elder brethren and sisters in turn. They 
went from house to house, saluting the inha- 
bitants with a passage of scripture, chosen for 
the occasion, and usually that which was ap- 
pointed for the day. These passages were called 
the daily word, and it was afterwards their cus- 
tom to print them in advance for the whole 
year. 

The burials of the inhabitants of Herrnhut 



OF HERRNHUT IN 1727. 



241 



took place at first in the church-yard, at Ber- 
tholdsdorf; but when that became too small, 
and as the distance was considerable, a new ceme- 
tery was opened, in the year 1730, at the foot of the 
Hutberg.* The relations did not wear mourn- 
ing at funerals, but the whole church accom- 
panied the corpse, singing hymns, in the sweet 
expectation of the resurrection of the body in 
the likeness of the glorified body of Jesus. 

The affairs of the church were transacted in 
the conferences of the ministers ; for business of 
a more general nature they summoned a com- 
mittee of the principal inhabitants, which was 
called the council of the church. In all doubt- 
ful cases they decided by the lot. In the 
nightly watch every one took his turn, whatever 
rank he might hold, and assisted in edifying the 
church by singing the verses appointed for every 
hour. 

* About a furlong from Herrnhut. " It is surrounded 
with a hedge of beech, and laid out in regular squares, the 
intersecting walks being planted with tall lime-trees, forming 
shady vistas. Benches are placed here and there in the 
walks, and in arbours. The whole has rather the appear- 
ance of a pleasure-ground than of a grave-yard, and has be- 
come a favourite promenade for many of the inhabitants of 
Herrnhut, and the strangers who visit the settlement. All 
the graves are disposed in regular rows, and each covered 
with a plain stone, lying horizontally, indicating the name, 
birth, and death of the individual whose mortal remains rest 
beneath it, in hope of a joyful resurrection. The visitor 
approaches it through an avenue of tall and shady trees, 
gently ascending the hill. Over the portal, at the public 
entrance, are written, in large letters, the words, Christ is 
risen from the dead; and on the other side, He is become the 
first-fruits of them that slept. In 1822, the number of graves 
was 2502. "—Holmes, vol. i. p. 425. 



242 



A VIEW OF THE STATE 



We shall close this part of our description 
with an account of the institution of continual 
prayer, which still exists among them. After 
the special blessings they had received, some of 
the brethren and sisters thought it right to ap- 
point special hours for prayer and thanksgiving. 
The connexions of the church also becoming 
daily more extensive, applications arrived from 
all parts, entreating their intercession for afflicted 
persons, prisoners, such as were tried with strong 
temptations, or labouring under bodily diseases. 
In short, they considered that, as under the old 
covenant the fire on the altar never ceased to 
burn, so the prayers of the saints ought always 
to ascend to the Lord, in his church, which is 
the temple of God, wherein the true fire of his 
Spirit is kindled. 

The Herrnhut journal, dated the 22d of August, 
1727, speaks of this institution in the following 
terms : — " In these days we all felt how neces- 
sary it is for the church, which is yet in its in- 
fancy, but has an old enemy to contend with, 
even Satan, who sleeps not day or night, to be 
continually watching against him, and to have in 
its prayers sentinels, as it were, always on guard. 
We therefore determined to light up amongst us 
the fire of continual supplication. On the 
23d of August, fourteen brethren offered them- 
selves for this purpose ; and, on the 25th, we had 
advanced so far as to make an arrangement, in 
pursuance of which twenty-four brethren, and 
the same number of sisters, divided among them 
by lot the twenty-four hours, agreeing to retire 
to their closets successively for secret prayer, 



OF HERHNHUT IN 1727. 



243 



and to lay before the Lord, in detail and with 
entire simplicity, all the troubles and wants, in- 
ternal and external, which had come to their 
knowledge. They began on the 27th, and soon 
a great number more joined them, so that there 
were as many as seventy-seven persons, besides 
children, who had been awakened by Divine 
grace, and who established something of a simi- 
lar kind among themselves. As they did not 
wish to set bounds to the course of Divine grace, 
or put a yoke on the Spirit of God, they agreed, 
that if any brother or sister could not pass the 
entire hour in prayer, either on account of the 
state of their minds, or the duties of their call- 
ing, they might employ part of it in praising the 
Lord, or in presenting their supplications in the 
form of spiritual songs." 

The brethren and sisters employed in this 
work met once a week, to receive communica- 
tions respecting the subjects of their prayers, 
whether relating to churches or nations, or spe- 
cial supplications and thanksgivings. We may 
easily conceive, that in order to keep up these 
daily meetings, conferences, visits to the sick 
and from house to house, private prayer-meet- 
ings, watches, and other associations for edifica- 
tion, the members of the church must have 
redeemed every portion of time ; yea, that they 
must have encroached on some of the moments 
devoted to their several occupations or domestic 
affairs, especially when we reflect that all of 
them, even their ministers, were obliged to sup- 
port themselves by the labour of their own 
hands. But it is to be borne in mind that the 



244 



A VIEW OF THE STATE 



strictest temperance prevailed in every part of 
their domestic economy ; all knew how to con- 
tent themselves with extremely frugal diet, small 
dwellings, and the mere necessaries of furniture. 
Their attire was very plain, and on working- 
days the brethren attended the meetings in the 
clothes they wore in their workshops, and the 
sisters in the dress which they used in the house. 
In fine, their love of poverty and constant labour, 
to which they were accustomed from their child- 
hood, their confidence in God, joined to the 
beneficence of their richer brethren, furnished 
such resources, that none of them ever wanted 
the necessaries of life, while none enjoyed its 
superfluities. Any one accustomed to seek his 
own ease, desirous of amassing riches, or indis- 
posed to follow the Saviour through poverty and 
meanness, would have been soon recognized as 
a person unfit to belong to this society. 

II. A brief account of seme of the most dis- 
tinguished labourers in the church. 

1. Melchior Nitschmann. We have already 
mentioned this brother, andhave shown how he was 
chosen of the Lord, notwithstanding his youth, 
to be one of the first pastors of the church. In 
1728 he resolved, with another worthy servant 
of the Lord, his friend Schmidt, to visit the 
protestants of Salzberg, calling in his way on 
the brethren at Litiz, in order to exhort them to 
perseverance in the truth. The count, the 
elders, and all his friends, endeavoured to dis- 
suade him from this journey, urging the dangers 
to which he would be exposed, both from the 
malice of his enemies, and the weakness of 



OF HERRNIIUT IN 1727. 245 

his health, as he had been attacked with con- 
sumption, arising from the hardships he had en- 
dured in prison. Notwithstanding* these re- 
monstrances, he felt himself so powerfully moved 
to undertake the journey, that he could not re- 
sist ; and, in his farewell letter to the church, 
he thus expresses his feelings on the subject: — 
" As you are all assembled to-day, I have a 
great desire to speak to you on the subject of 
my journey, on my motives and reasons for it; 
that you may see, that we seek not our own ad- 
vantage, and that no merely natural impulse 
has carried us away. As, however, I cannot 
speak to you face to face, I wish to do it by 
these few lines, and all that I shall say, the dear 
brother, who travels with me, will also confirm. 
We have no other motives than these : first, that 
we have received grace of the Lord Jesus, though 
unworthy; that He has chosen us, that we 
should go and bring forth fruit ; and we would 
not be found unfaithful. The second is an in- 
ternal conviction and certainty of mind with re- 
gard to our course, which we have received of 
the Lord, after many fervent prayers. Thirdly, 
we do not so much seek by this journey to edify 
or to revive the work of God in others, as to 
derive some real advantage to ourselves ; for we 
already foresee, that we shall find in it much to 
crucify the old man, and that if we wished to 
follow the impulse of nature, we should never 
leave Herrnhut. But, by the grace of God, we 
do not fear any of those things which may hap- 
pen. Whatever they may be, we know that we 
can do all things through Him who strengthens 
y 2 



246 A VIEW OF THE STATE 

us. Besides j a christian is called, in all circum- 
stances, to renounce himself, and he ought to 
be ready, if he had a thousand lives, to sacrifice 
them all for Christ. We can assure you, dear 
brethren, that even when bonds and imprison- 
ment await us, we hope, by the grace of God, 
so to conduct ourselves, and to persevere by the 
strength of the Lord Jesus, that you may not 
have reason to weep over us, and that the glory 
of God may be promoted. We have this confi- 
dence in Christ ; not that we are able of our- 
selves to do anything ; O no ! all our sufficiency 
is of God." 

The forebodings of this worthy servant of 
Christ were soon verified : only a few days after 
his departure, the news arrived at Herrnhut that 
he was shut up in the prison of Schildberg. 
Having passed the frontiers of Moravia, he con- 
sented, at the request of several pious persons, 
to preach to them. He took for his subject the 
necessity, nature, and effects of regeneration. 
The presence of the two brethren was noticed, 
and a search being made, they were dragged to 
prison, together with thirty persons, who had 
met with them. As soon as the intelligence 
reached Herrnhut, count Zinzendorf used all his 
influence with the authorities to obtain their re- 
lease, but in vain. 

At first they had an opportunity of preaching 
Christ, even in the prison, and Melchior gave 
such a testimony of the hope that was in him, 
that his enemies were astonished, and some well 
disposed among the clergy were moved even to 
tears. He finished his earthly career as a faith- 



OF IlERRNtlUT IN 1727. 



247 



ful witness to the truth on the 27th of February, 
1729, and was interred in the place allotted to 
heretics and criminals. His companion was not 
released till more than five years afterwards. 

„ Melchior was highly esteemed by the count. 
In the journal of the latter, dated the 14th of 
April, 1729, we find the following notice : " The 
post brought me intelligence of my beloved bro- 
ther Melchior Nitschmann ; he is dead ! This 
was a severe trial of my hope ; in him I have lost 
half my heart." 

2. Extracts from several letters of Martin 
Linner. In the place of Melchior Nitschmann, 
the church chose brother Martin Linner, of Mo- 
ravia, to be their elder. He had come to Herrnhut 
in 1728, when he was only twenty-six years old, 
but he discovered from the first an ardent love to 
Jesus, great faithfulness in following him and 
renouncing himself, and an unwearied zeal in 
stirring up his brethren to a life and conversation 
agreeable to the gospel ; so that he gained the 
esteem of the whole church. He made several 
arrangements in the church, which have been 
carefully observed ever since; among others the 
separation of the single brethren and sisters. 
In consequence of this regulation, a number of 
the young single brethren united together, dwell- 
ing in certain houses prepared for them, where 
they applied themselves to their respective trades ; 
this measure greatly promoted their mutual edi- 
fication. When the duties of an elder devolved 
upon him, Linner still continued to work at his 
trade as a baker, until he discovered that one 
of his brethren, who was of the same business, 



248 



A VIEW OF THE STATE 



was suffering loss. He then gave up his bake- 
house to him, and went to live with his single 
brethren, where he supported himself with great 
difficulty by wool-combing. 

The count interested himself in procuring some 
assistance for him, and the brother to whom he had 
given up his business ; but Linner dissuaded him 
from it with the brotherly freedom then common, 
and wrote to him in the following terms : — " Your 
desire to procure us a more lucrative situation, 
shows a love of which I am far from being worthy ; 
but I cannot approve it. It is not the custom 
with the Saviour to suffer his disciples to be sup- 
plied with resources for the future; it ought not 
to be so in my case. If I, through love to my 
brother, deprive myself of anything, my Saviour 
will interpose for me ; and even if I should suffer 
want, I ought to take it joyfully. " 

Constant mental labour, added to extreme 
hard living, appears to have shortened his days. 
In order to put himself on a level with the poorest 
of his brethren, he used to lie upon the floor, 
and thus, in the beginning of the year 1733, his 
health was seriously undermined. The count 
then removed him to his own residence ; but 
when he left home for a short time, Linner re- 
turned, weak as he was, to the brethren's house, 
to end his days among them. On the day before 
his death, he attempted to write a letter to the 
church. Soon after he had begun, his pen drop- 
ped from his hand through fatigue, and sitting in 
his chair with his eyes raised towards heaven, he 
awaited his end with calm serenity. He was just 
heard at intervals to exclaim, " My Saviour, thou 



OF HE RUN HUT IN 1727- 



249 



knowest that I love none as I love thee ! Thou 
knowest I love thee with my whole heart !" 

On the 26th of February, at eleven in the 
morning, it became evident that his end was ap- 
proaching", and the church being then assembled 
for prayer, it was announced to them ; when they 
agreed to spend the time in recommending their 
beloved elder to the grace of the Saviour, while 
his colleagues left the assembly to attend him. 
One of them gave him his blessing with the im- 
position of hands, and as he was pronouncing 
the words, u Depart in peace, dear brother/' his 
redeemed soul passed into the arms of Jesus, in 
the twenty-ninth year of his age. A short time 
after his death, some of his letters were published, 
which give us a tolerably accurate view of the 
internal state of the church. 

On one of his journeys he thus writes, " Be- 
loved brethren and sisters, I bless our glorious 
Saviour, that he gives you the victory, not only 
over your enemies who assault your own hearts, 
but over the more crafty foes that attack your 
mutual union. O my brethren, show yourselves 
invincible over the false and perfidious powers of 
darkness ! May every one of you labour to have 
Jesus formed in you ; my heart prays for those 
who still drag their burdens after them, and will 
not freely enter on a course of self-denying obe- 
dience. My beloved brethren, why do you yet 
halt between two opinions ? Do not you see how 
those who labour to produce good works, and to 
establish their own righteousness, labour and 
harass themselves in vain ? If you cannot 



250 



A VIEW OF THE STATE 



experience in your hearts the victorious power of 
the Saviour, at least inquire if your prayers arise 
from hearts truly desirous of his grace, or if they 
are the mere effect of habit. May our Saviour 
break every hard heart, that you may be prepared 
to receive the powerful influence of his Spirit ! — 
May our faithful Saviour unite you more in mutual 
love ! Never grow weary of bearing one another's 
burdens, of comforting, exhorting, and helping 
one another, that none may come behind, and 
that every one who sees that the Lord is among 
us, and beholds our conversation in his sight, 
may be a witness and a> living epistle, to attest 
the work of God." 

- In a letter to a Lutheran professor of divinity, 
he thus writes : 6 ( Beloved brother in the fellow- 
ship of Christ ! Blessed be the Conqueror, who 
hath not only delivered us from the sensual snares 
of our own hearts, but who has prepared in us a 
place where he can dwell and reign in all purity! 
Oh, how happy is the man, who, wearied with the 
heavy yoke of the law, is born of the divine seed, 
and receives power to obey with delight the law 
of God according to the inner man. How bless- 
ed are the laws of our Saviour ! Let us follow 
him, for he is sufficient for us, he is all in all to 
us ; may nothing remain in us to prevent us from 
praising the Lord day and night with the deep- 
est reverence, and giving ourselves up into his 
hands, that he may do with us what is good in 
his sight, and that we may finish our conflict 
valiantly. He gives us a continual hungering 
after himself ; out of him there is no nourishment 



OF HERRNHUT IN 1727. 



251 



to strengthen or quicken our spirits. May the 
Lord confirm you in the covenant of his love, 
that his brightness may shine in you to his glory." 

In writing to one, who stumbled at the sins 
of others, and therefore delayed turning to 
God, he thus expresses himself : " My dear 
friend, I perceive that you are beginning again 
to sport with the enemy. Would you then let 
him catch you in his snares ? Would you bring 
yourself again into trouble ? The offence that 
you are always taking at others, is a sin in you. 
A true brother looks at others that he may assist 
them ; but this is what only a converted man can 
do. The unconverted man looks at the sins of 
others merely to find evidence that he is not the 
only wicked person ; as long as you act thus, I 
shall have little hope of your conversion. When 
you enter into yourself, you will find enough to 
wound you ; but it will be better for you ; you 
will feel your misery. If you do not advance in 
the divine life, you will only be a thorn among 
us, and a grief to the true brethren." 

When it was proposed, in 1730, to send Leo- 
nard Dober to the island of St. Thomas, and ac- 
cording to their custom, the church was con- 
sulted on the subject, Linner gave the following 
advice : " I cannot see my way clear to give my 
consent to the departure of our brother Dober, 
especially when I think how needful he is to our 
single brethren. I will readily submit to the de- 
cision of the church ; I only wish that my heart 
could also submit. In the meantime I desire to 
be resigned, and to labour with Jesus among my 
brethren. But, can you, seeing how things are 



252 A VIEW OF THE STATE 

declining, or at least not making progress amongst 
us the unmarried brethren, can you be indiffer- 
ent to the idea of depriving us of our best help- 
ers ? You have long felt how important it is, in 
our daily public instructions, that we should 
learn to know the hearts of all, that we may mi- 
nister suitable and seasonable assistance, with 
gentleness or severity. When I look at the bre- 
thren that have been taken from us, by im- 
prisonment, by death, and by their outward call- 
ings, and remember that they were our best 
friends, I am not at all surprised that we form 
the poorest and worst portion of the church. I 
write these things, not as an elder of the church, 
but as a helper of the single brethren." Dober, 
however, having been proved for more than a 
year, and still feeling strongly inclined to go, 
Linner at length gave his consent ; and the same 
day on which the former departed, two catechists 
arrived from Livonia, who were tolerably well 
fitted to supply his place in the church. 

3. Extracts from the letters of Matthew Lin- 
ner. He was the nephew of the preceding, and 
schoolmaster at Herrnhut. The following ex- 
tracts from his letters show the zeal which ani- 
mated him for the welfare of the youth committed 
to his care. One of them had written to him 
that he was in a state of great anguish of mind ; 
Linner replied to him in the following terms : — 

" My dear N. When we are in a state like 
yours, it behoves us to consider ourselves closely, 
and to say, ' If, in past time I have had much 
sorrow, I shall experience still more, if I continue 
to grieve my Saviour !' I beseech you be more 



OF HERRNIIUT IN 1727- 



253 



in earnest, that you may edify your brethren by 
your conduct. "Never think you ought to use 
dissimulation towards them ; if you see anything 
in them that is not right, tell them of it. Do not 
distress yourself with the idea that they will make 
greater progress than you ; only do the best you 
can." 

To another he thus writes " The Lord bless 
you, my dear N. When I told you, I did not 
quite understand you, it was true. You still say, 
4 I believe the Saviour will not leave me, but will 
lead me on/ and things of that kind ; but to be- 
lieve, and to continue in this state of indecision, 
are two things which cannot agree together. You 
write that you wish to be delivered from all 
evil : it is well ; but when we have the grace to 
wish for any thing, the sense of duty gives 
strength to perform it. Thus it must be, that 
your desire is not very sincere, as you remain 
still in the same state." 

To one of the monitors he writes thus : — " To 
walk as in the sight of the Lord Jesus, is true 
happiness. Beloved brother, how is it with thee 
in this respect ? Art thou advancing in his pre- 
sence, or art thou fallen into a state of supine- 
ness ? Thou art so trifling, so slothful, so dissi- 
pated ! When the day is passed thou never 
knowest how thou hast spent it. O think, then, 
that thou art set over others, to exhort and ani- 
mate them ; and that, if the children see in you 
the least thing that is not right, they will say, 
' If he can do such things, I may do them with 
greater reason.' " 

To a friend, who did not belong to the church, 



254 A VIEW OF THE STATE 

he writes thus : — " I wish you much knowledge 
and strength ; knowledge to see your enemies 
in their true character, and by this knowledge 
to receive strength to overcome them. I was 
once so foolish as to entreat the Saviour to give 
me strength to conquer my enemies, without 
acknowledging that they were such. I secretly 
loved them, and I therefore still remained in 
the same condition. I was uneasy, and I knew 
not what was the cause, until I discovered this se- 
cret love that I was still nourishing for my sins. 
But the instant that ceased, the Saviour gave 
me strength, courage, and victory ; for can it 
be, that the Saviour would give us a task to 
perform, or enemies to fight, without at the 
same time giving us the necessary strength for 
the task and the conflict ? This, dear brother, 
is the self-denial I wish you to exercise/' 

The death of this brother was very edifying. 
Some days before, his mother was exhorting him 
to think of the Saviour ; " Dear mother," said 
he, " we think of the absent, but the Saviour 
is always present with me." The last night be- 
fore his departure, he heard them singing un- 
der his window the hymn beginning with those 
words, " He who has before his eyes the day of 
his espousals," &c. and immediately exclaimed, 
" That is what I think ; that is what I do." 

4. Martin Dober, who had come to Herrnhut 
in 1724, and since 1728 had been the most distin- 
guished fellow-labourer with Zinzendorf in teach- 
ing the church, was born of pious parents, who 
left Bohemia for the sake of the gospel. He 
was a potter by trade : but, by the diligent study 



OF HERRNHUT IN 1727- 



255 



of the holy scriptures, and by the experience 
of the power of Divine truth, he acquired such 
sound views of the gospel, that when, in 1736, 
he was presented to the chief consistory of Co- 
penhagen, to undergo a regular examination, he 
received a testimony in writing from the super- 
intendent general, " that he had fully satisfied 
the members of the consistory, that he possessed 
considerable acquaintance with the original lan- 
guages of the holy scriptures, deep and sound 
knowledge of the doctrines of the christian faith, 
and the operations of Divine grace upon the 
soul ; that his views were highly experimental, 
and his gift in preaching both clear and solid." 
On this occasion he had been called upon, with 
some others, to preach, without any premedita- 
tion, a discourse on the work of God in conver- 
sion. 

In a letter to a friend who did not belong to 
the brethren's church, he gives the following 
account of his early christian experience: — "I 
passed my life among pious persons from my 
infancy ; they were persons however whose piety 
consisted only in outward separation from the 
world, in a serious and austere life, in singing, 
praying, going poorly clothed, giving alms, and 
enduring all sorts of hardship ; but without any 
true and vital knowledge of the Lord Jesus, or, 
consequently, any power to overcome sinful pro- 
pensities. We knew very well what evil and 
good were ; but that knowledge was of no use 
to us. In this state I lived till I was eighteen 
years old. At length, my faithful Saviour 
brought me hither, (to Herrnhut.) Here I have 



256 



A VIEW Of THE STATE 



learned that no one can enjoy true peace of 
mind, unless he is reconciled to God by Jesus 
Christ ; that even if we could abstain from evil 
and do much good, and knew all mysteries, yet 
without redemption by the blood of Christ, it 
would profit us nothing. This doctrine pene- 
trated my heart like lightning, and immedi- 
ately I said to myself, 'This is as it should be/ 
From that time I resolved to seek for nothing 
but this redemption by Jesus, peace with God 
by him, and that faith which, according to 
Rom. x. 4. is the only faith unto righteousness ; 
then I could with confidence call Jesus my Bro- 
ther, and his Father my Father." 

A minister having ironically asked how those 
meetings were conducted, over which a potter 
presided, Zinzendorf replied in the name of the 
church, " When we come to the reading of the 
Old Testament, the potter is accustomed to use 
only his Hebrew Bible. If he is ill or absent, 
the count endeavours to fill his place, and 
sometimes the pastor Rothe. When Dober is 
present, the church loves to hear him best." In 
fact Dober' s preaching was so moving, that the 
count said of him, " When he opens his mouth 
at the hall, it is like so many claps of thunder/' 
Several beautiful hymns of his composition are 
still to be found in the brethren's German col- 
lection. 

It will be interesting to connect with this 
picture of Herrnhut in its infancy, a sketch 
which the brethren themselves drew some years 
after. " Although we may very plainly see/' says 
one of them, in 1803, " by what has been already 



OF HERRNHUT IN 1727, 



257 



advanced, that the brethren's church, ever 
since its formation, has had teachers who de- 
clared, with power and affection, the salvation 
which is founded on the death of Christ alone ; 
yet we cannot say that it was preached among 
them at first with the same clearness and sim- 
plicity as in later times, or that it was so gene- 
rally embraced. Mystical notions were min- 
gled with the truth of the gospel ; their preach- 
ing was profound, but diffuse, one discourse of- 
ten lasting two or three hours, because they 
thought it necessary to prove every thing and 
answer all objections. A remarkable change took 
place, in this respect, at the beginning of the 
year 1734. By seeing religious persons of every 
description, and discussing with them different 
points of doctrine, the count was led to exa- 
mine thoroughly the basis of his own faith, and 
this led him more fully into the doctrine of re- 
demption by the blood of Christ. 

An event, extremely trifling in appearance, 
seems to have led to a full disclosure of his views 
on this subject. So important was it deemed by 
the brethren's historians, that not one of them 
has failed to relate it, when he arrived at this 
part of their history. The count having thrown 
some papers into a stove, part of a leaf was 
found untouched in the ashes, on which was writ- 
ten the " word" for February 14th, " He shall 
choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of 
Jacob, whom he loved ;" and beneath, two 
verses of the Lutheran hymn, " Make us, Lord, 
see our election, in thy pierced hands and feet." 
This led to a most affecting conversation among" 
z 2 



258 STATE OF IlERRNillT IN 172/. 

the brethren present, on the death and (accord- 
ing to the expression which soon became preva- 
lent among them) the wounds of Jesus, and at 
that time the count composed the sweet hymn, 
which establishes with so much clearness and 
unction this fundamental truth of the gospel, 
" that our salvation is founded alone upon the 
grace of God through the blood of Jesus, and 
that when a poor sinner sees himself corrupted 
and lost, he ought especially to beware of all 
attempts to save himself, but to go directly to 
Christ, the Friend of sinners, in whose blood 
alone he can find grace and sanctification." 
From this period the strain of preaching in the 
church was completely altered ; the Lamb of 
God that taketh away the sin of the world, and 
his expiatory sacrifice, became more and more 
the principal subject of all their hymns and 
discourses. This was the beginning of the hap- 
piest times of their church, and of that useful- 
ness with which it has been honoured in every 
quarter of the world. 



CHAPTER XII. 



FROM THE AGREEMENT, ON THE 13TH OF AUGUST, 
1727, TO THE SETTLEMENT OF THE INDEPEND- 
ENCE OF THE CHURCH, IN JANUARY, 1731. 

Nothing particular occurred in the outward 
state of the church during the period immediately 
succeeding the pacification. The church had 
need of rest after so many sufferings, and the ex- 
perience of so much joy; and between the con- 
flicts it had sustained within, and those it was 
now expecting from without, a short period of 
repose was necessary to enjoy the great victory, 
which the Spirit of God had achieved. 

Its internal arrangements were thus consoli- 
dated, perfected and extended. The single bre- 
thren were brought by degrees to dwell in the 
separate houses assigned to them, and the count 
took them under his special care. The single 
sisters likewise were settled in a separate house, 
and placed under the inspection of the countess. 
About the same time, a few persons, thinking 
they ought to observe the precept of Jesus liter- 
ally, " Ye ought also to wash one another's feet/' 
introduced this observance, but only among 
themselves. After some time, it was practised 
by the whole church, before the Lord's supper. 
In our days it is only observed at certain periods, 



260 FROM THE AGREEMENT IN 1727, 



as on the thursday before easter, or some other 
particular occasions. The churches now have 
not all the same customs ; the brethren always 
preserving, in things of this kind, a liberty of 
changing or modifying them according to cir- 
cumstances. 

The rise of the settlement, or church of Herrn- 
hut, soon excited great attention, and was much 
spoken of, both amongst its friends and enemies. 
We may judge of this by the fact, that, in the year 
1728, above fifty letters were received in one day, 
and distributed among the brethren to whom 
they were addressed. These requested informa- 
tion ; and the various reports, which were soon 
circulated, led many individuals to visit Herrn- 
hut, and among others, some persons of high 
rank. On account of these circumstances, also, 
the brethren were induced to send deputations 
into all the protestant countries of Europe, which 
were followed by very happy effects. 

The first of these missions was to the prince 
royal of Denmark, in the autumn of 1727. Two 
of the members of the church carried him, at his 
own request, an account of the brethren of Bo- 
hemia and Moravia, and their establishment at 
Herrnhut, and were most kindly received, both 
by him and several persons of his court. 

At Jena, the count became acquainted with 
the celebrated Buddeus, and several other minis- 
ters, professors and students, to whom his visit 
was singularly blessed, while at the same time it 
served to give them an accurate view of the work 
of God at Herrnhut. In 1728, also, three bre- 
thren were sent as a deputation to England. 



TO THE SETTLEMENT IN 1731. 



261 



We shall close our account of the events of 
this year by recording a circumstance of an af- 
fecting nature, which took place about this time. 
It appears that some painful difference again 
arose between the church and the pastor Rothe ; 
but God, who always brings good out of evil, 
brought this matter to a termination, much to 
the edification of both parties. We are not in- 
formed of the particulars, but merely know that 
Rothe acknowledged himself wrong in some 
things ; upon which the church sent him an af- 
fectionate letter, which was so successful, that 
he went to Herrnhut, and the covenant of peace 
and brotherly love was renewed, to the great 
joy of all parties. 

In the midst of all this labour in the church, 
and all that the brethren had to do in sur- 
rounding countries, they began to engage in the 
work of missions among the heathen. For this 
purpose they held the first meeting on the 4th 
of January, 1728, to communicate to the church 
various accounts which they had received of the 
progress of the kingdom of God. This first 
missionary meeting was celebrated by medita- 
tions on different portions of holy scripture, and 
fervent prayers ; in the midst of which the church 
experienced a remarkable enjoyment of the pre- 
sence of the Spirit. The brethren felt them- 
selves urged to attempt something that might 
redound to the glory of the Lord ; several distant 
countries were mentioned, and particularly Tur- 
key, Northern Africa, Greenland, and Lapland. 
Some of them adverted to the impossibility of 
ever being able to reach these countries • but 



262 



FROM THE AGREEMENT IN 1727, 



the count expressed his firm conviction that the 
Lord would one day grant the brethren the grace 
and means necessary for the work. They were 
thus inspired with great courage, and disposed 
to hold themselves in readiness to engage in the 
sacred enterprise, whenever the Lord should give 
tha signal. 

In consequence of an invitation received 
from the students of Jena, the count repair- 
ed to that city in the course of the summer, 
w T ith a part of his household, almost wholly 
composed of persons devoted to the ministry of 
the gospel. There were at that time, in this 
university, more than one hundred persons, pro- 
fessors and students, who had established meet- 
ings for mutual edification, and schools for poor 
children. These brethren, and some others, at- 
tended the count's domestic meetings, and what 
they learned of the ancient and modern discipline 
of the brethren, suggested to them the desire of 
having something of the same kind established 
among themselves. The count could not, for 
several reasons, accede to their wishes in this 
matter, but he proposed to them to found, under 
the direction of Buddeus, a kind of seminary, 
to be called the practical college, for train- 
ing up young ministers. It was commenced, but 
proved unsuccessful. Several years after this, 
an institution was formed at Jena, similar to 
that which they had formerly projected. 

From Jena, the count went to Halle, to which 
place a deputation had been sent by the church. 
We may remember, that he had a great regard 
for the divines of this city. More than a hun- 



TO THE SETTLEMENT IN 1731. 



263 



dred of the students requested him to deliver to 
them a course of lectures on divinity, in a form 
suited for edification, to which proposal he ac- 
ceded. 

While Zinzendorf was at Jena, a new storm 
threatened the community at Herrnhut. Power- 
ful efforts were employed to induce the brethren 
to renounce their peculiar discipline, and fully 
join the Lutheran church, in order to avoid per- 
secution. The pastor Rothe was persuaded to 
give his sanction to these attempts, and, strange 
to say, he was joined by Christian David, who, 
in the preceding year, had maintained the oppo- 
site opinion very decidedly. The count had 
no small difficulties to encounter in restoring 
peace; at length however he succeeded, and it 
was agreed that every thing should remain in 
the same state as before. 

A. D. 1729. Among the celebrated divines 
with whom the brethren's church were connected, 
at this period, we may mention the first preacher 
of the court of Prussia, Daniel Ernest Jablons- 
key. He was made court preacher in 1699, by 
the consent of the king, then elector of Saxony. 
The news which he received of the existence 
and prosperity of the little flock at Herrnhut, 
excited a very lively interest in his mind, as he 
testified in a letter, dated August 13, 1729. Zin- 
zendorf kept up a correspondence with him from 
this time, and to him he first communicated his 
intention of embracing the ecclesiastical pro- 
fession. 

During this year the church sent deputations 
into Switzerland, Livonia, Sweden, and Denmark, 



264 



FROM THE AGREEMENT IN ]?27, 



which were very kindly received. Among the 
deputies to Livonia was Christian David, who 
had before undertaken a journey into Switzer- 
land. The count was also much occupied with 
a persecution that had broken out against cer- 
tain evangelical ministers in Silesia, several of 
whom, particularly Steinmetz, the count's par- 
ticular friend, w 7 ere accused before the magis- 
trates of pietism, and that even by some of their 
own colleagues. The count warmly undertook 
their defence ; but the authorities sentenced them 
to deprivation and banishment ; all, therefore, 
that he could do, was to endeavour to find them 
an asylum in some other place. 

These efforts most probably gave occasion to 
the first attack made against the brethren at this 
time, which was afterwards followed by many 
more. A jesuit missionary in Silesia published 
a pamphlet against the church of Herrnhut, 
entitled, ' 4 An Account of a new 7 Sect just esta- 
blished in Upper Lusatia and Silesia/' The 
count wished not to notice this publication, but 
he could not prevent the ministers SchcefTer, 
Schwedler, and Rothe, who considered them- 
selves as attacked by it, from undertaking this 
task, which they did in a pamphlet, entitled 
" A true Testimony to the Church at Herrnhut." 
All sorts of reports were now spread against the 
count and the church, and as even the friends 
of the truth required an explanation, Zinzendorf 
at length found himself obliged to publish his 
44 First Public Declaration" against his adver- 
saries. 

A. D. 1730. The count was much engaged, 



TO THE SETTLEMENT IN 1731. 265 

during this year, in correspondence with different 
religious societies. Certain changes took place 
this year, which are not very easily accounted for. 
It seems that, for some reasons known to himself 
alone, Zinzendorf had determined to procure a 
new election of elders. On the 15th of March, 
the church very unexpectedly received a com- 
munication from him, resigning his office as 
president. " 1 wish," said he, " to leave the 
church to Go'd, and to her bridegroom, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, desiring to continue the companion 
of the joy and sorrows of the elect people of 
God, resolved, if persecution shall come upon 
me, to sacrifice my property, and even my life, 
for the maintenance of what he has enabled me 
to establish. " In other respects, he expressed a 
wish to submit cordially to the church and its 
elders. " If the church," says he, " is to have 
a master, I should have the greatest right to be 
placed over it ; but it is the office of the Holy 
Spirit to appoint a bishop to feed the church of 
God, which he has purchased with his own 
blood. Until now Jesus Christ has himself been 
the bishop, and if any one should take the office, 
he would show a spirit of rebellion against the 
Lord. To you, to whom it is given to know the. 
mysteries of the kingdom of Christ, I say, / am 
not your president, but Christ." 

His example was followed by the elders. Au- 
gustin Neisser alone was continued in his charge, 
and the church gave him for his colleagues Chris- 
tian David, then in Livonia, and Martin Linner, 
the interesting young man before mentioned, a 
journeyman baker by trade, 27 years old. 
"2a 



266 FROM THE AGREEMENT IN 1727, 

Though Augustin Neisser was only confirmed 
in his charge, and did not lay down his office, 
yet he was again solemnly ordained in conjunc- 
tion with Linner. Christian David had not yet 
returned from Livonia. The ordination of the 
two brethren was attended to with truly chris- 
tian solemnity. Some of the questions proposed 
to them on this occasion, in the presence of the 
whole body, are here inserted. 

" Do you know, that the first elders of the 
church, which you are called to serve, were 
burned to death for the name of Jesus ? 

" Do you know, that in 1715, that is, pre- 
cisely three hundred years after the martyrdom 
of John Huss, the Lord celebrated the jubilee of 
that event by calling to the knowledge of him- 
self one of you, Augustin Neisser; and that, 
just a century from the destruction of the Mo- 
ravian churches, the foundation of Herrnhut was 
laid, in 1722? 

" Do you recollect, that all the ancestors of 
this beloved church were martyrs, whose religion 
and wise institutions it is proper we should pre- 
serve, since they were in existence sixty years 
before the reformation ? And do you promise to 
endure all kinds of persecutions, rather than 
suffer the church to forsake them ? 

" Do you know, also, that these privileges 
and blessings do not form the true character, 
or true treasure of our people ; but their richest 
treasure is, that they have received a name 
which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it ? 

" Will_ you continue in the high station to 
which the church has called you, with all hu- 



TO THE SETTLEMENT IN 1731. 



267 



mility; and whenever you perceive yourselves 
lifted up, regard yourselves at that time as the 
children of the devil ? Will you continue to 
submit to the church, ruling; it in a spirit of 
humility, abasing- yourselves that Christ may be 
exalted ? 

u Will you faithfully endeavour to promote 
in others the knowledge of Christ, and of the 
virtue of his death, and the merit of his 
blood, to cleanse and sanctify the heart ; 
making this the sole foundation of all your 
instructions and reproofs, and of your official 
decisions ? 

u Are you willing, if it should be required, to 
follow the church in all her wanderings, even to 
persecution and death ?" 

The two brethren replied in the affirmative to 
all these questions, and the next day were 
saluted by the hymns, congratulations, and en- 
couragements of the whole church. 

We have already seen, that the sisters had 
among them several offices corresponding to 
those of the brethren : they had elders of their 
own sex, and they now made fresh nominations 
to the office three days after the brethren, that 
is, on the 18th of March. One of these nomi- 
nations was very remarkable. Among the num- 
ber of those deemed eligible to discharge the 
functions of an elder among the sisters, was 
Anne Nitschmann, the excellent sister of Mel- 
chior, then only 15 years old; and the judgment 
formed of her was confirmed by the lot. This 
young sister had come from Moravia to Herrnhut, 



268 FROM THE AGREEMENT IN 1727, 



with her parents, while she was yet a child. 
She was converted at the time of the revival 
among the children, and was afterwards made 
signally useful to them. She gained her living 
by spinning wool, and led a very peaceful life, 
frequently spending the night and the day in 
prayers. " I have often/' says Spangenberg, 
in the life of Zinzendorf, " found her thus em- 
ployed. " 

Her nomination was so far from being re- 
garded as unsuitable, that when the brethren, 
in the year following, devolved the whole au- 
thority of the church upon one elder, she was 
also, from that time, regarded as the chief elder, 
or president of all the sisters, as well as special 
president over the unmarried females. This last 
charge was conferred upon her on account of a 
remarkable resolution she entered into with 
seventeen of her class, which merits more par- 
ticular notice. 

The brethren soon perceived that familiar in- 
tercourse between the young people of both 
sexes produced no good, but ended in their 
forming connexions contrary to the will of God. 
At first they endeavoured to remedy it by va- 
rious prudential measures ; but they found pre- 
cepts and prohibitions of no effect, and the single 
sisters themselves adopted the best measure for 
that purpose. Eighteen of them, with Anne 
Nitschmann at their head, entered into a solemn 
agreement not to listen to any proposal of mar- 
riage on worldly principles, or contrary to the 
discipline of a true church of Christ. This reso- 



TO THE SETTLEMENT IN 1731. 269 

lution they imparted to the elders, declaring at 
the same time, that if after mature deliberation 
these should see it right to sanction any propo- 
sition of this kind, they would then take it into 
consideration. 

The resolution was no sooner communicated 
than it was approved by the whole church, and 
became a standing rule among them. From 
this time the church walked in peace under their 
new leaders, and no other change took place 
besides the voluntary resignation of Christian 
•David, which occurred on the 24th of December, 
in the same year. 

The change thus quietly effected in the ad- 
ministration of the church, was soon after fol- 
lowed by a great alteration of another kind. 
When Christian David retired from office, the 
direction of the body gradually devolved on 
one of the elders, who was by that act established 
over the other officers and over the bishops 
themselves, when the church came to have 
them ; and this form of government lasted till 
the year 1741, when the constitution of the 
church was irrevocably fixed. At this time 
Martin Linner was generally considered as the 
chief elder, Augustin Neisser being looked 
upon as a kind of vicar general, to fill his place 
in case of need. The custom was also adopted of 
appointing, every month, in his turn, one of 
the helpers, to be assistant to the chief elder. 
This measure tended to unite them more closely 
together. 

A. D. 1731. The question was again brought 
2 a 2 



270 FROM THE AGREEMENT IN 1727, 

forward this year, whether the brethren's church 
should continue in its independent form, or 
unite with the Lutheran community ; and the 
latter course was supported by the almost irre- 
sistible weight and influence of Zinzendorf. 
There had always been persons among the 
brethren who wished to persuade them to join 
the Lutherans, and the many and urgent solici- 
tations addressed to the count by a number of 
learned men and persons of rank were reasons 
for again renewing an inquiry, which, after all 
that had passed, appeared ill-timed and rash, 
and which the count himself had so zealously 
opposed in 1728. 

The elders to whom Zinzendorf first proposed 
the new project, opposed it most decidedly : he 
had sufficient influence, however, to have it sub- 
mitted to the deliberation of the whole church, 
which assembled for that purpose on the 7th of 
January, 1731 ; but here it encountered much 
greater opposition. The brethren declared, as 
formerly, that their constitution was much more 
ancient than that of other protestant commu- 
nions ; and that for the sake of it they had, like 
their fathers, left their property and country. 
Most of those who did not belong to the Mora- 
vian brethren, and who were born in the Lutheran 
church, maintained with the brethren themselves, 
that their constitution was agreeable to the holy 
scriptures and to right reason ; and that, as it 
had been attended with so many blessings, they 
ought never to depart from it. They also fore- 
saw, that in abandoning this constitution, the 



TO THE SETTLEMENT tjf 1731. 



271 



same evil would happen to them that had be- 
fallen other religious societies, which, for want of 
order and discipline, had declined from their 
original purity. 

The count, however, still persisted in his mo- 
tion, and his rank as president of the church and 
lord of the manor, joined to his shining gifts, 
gave his opinion such weight, that the church 
consented to submit this solemn question to the 
Lord's decision by the lot. Thus was the 
brethren's church, with all its future destinies, 
about to depend upon the Yes or No that should 
issue from the urn ! 

According to the ancient custom of the 
brethren, they wrote two notes ; on one of which 
was inscribed 4 'To them that are without law, 
as without law," &c. 1 Cor. ix. 21 ; on the 
other, " Brethren, stand fast, and hold the tra- 
ditions," &c. 2 Thess. ii. 15. The church sup- 
plicated the Lord to make known to his people 
his wise purpose, and we may imagine with what 
solemn expectation they saw a child under four 
years of age draw the note. On it was written 
" Brethren, stand fast," &c. 

With hearts full of gratitude, the brethren re- 
newed their covenant with the Lord, determining 
from that time to abide by this constitution, to 
labour in the work of Christ with boldness, and 
to preach his gospel through all the nations of 
the world, whithersoever He would send them. 
The count himself delivered a most powerful 
discourse on the occasion. 

The brethren now being satisfied and at rest 



272 niOM 1727 TO 1731. 

on all sides, cheerfully took upon themselves 
the reproach of their novel institutions (as they 
were deemed) and the hatred of the world. 
From that time they continued to labour in their 
work with courage and confidence in the Lord, 
without suffering themselves to be turned aside, 
persuaded that the plan they had adopted was 
conformable to His will. 



CHAPTER XIIL 



HISTORY OF THE MISSION TO THE WEST INDIES, 
FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT TO 1736; AND OF 
THE GREENLAND MISSION, TO THE YEAR 1739. 

The Mission to the West Indies. 

The brethren's missions to the West Indies and 
Greenland were commenced in the year 1731 ; 
and we shall suspend the general history of the 
church, to give a continued relation of both, up 
to the time when they were fully established. 

The circumstance which gave rise to these two 
missions was a journey to Denmark, which Zin- 
zendorf undertook in June, 1731, to attend the 
coronation of Christian vi. Some of the brethren, 
who were in the service of the count and attended 
him on this occasion, became acquainted with a 
negro from the West Indies, named Anthony, 
then in the employ of a Danish nobleman. 
This man frequently conversed with the brethren 
from Herrnhut, and especially with the elder, 
David Nitschmann. He told them that he had 
often sat on the sea-shore of the island of St. 
Thomas, and prayed for a revelation from 
heaven ; and that by the providence of God he 
had been brought to Copenhagen, where he had 
embraced Christianity. He drew an affecting 



274 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 

picture of the condition of the negroes, both 
temporal and spiritual, among whom was his 
own sister, who was also very desirous of chris- 
tian instruction : and he assured the brethren 
that if a mission were established, there was good 
reason to expect success. 

When the count was informed of these things, 
he was so moved, that he wished to send Nitsch- 
mann immediately to St. Thomas ; but that not 
being possible, he determined to mention the 
matter at Herrnhut, and asked permission for An- 
thony to follow him thither. On his return, he 
related the whole to the brethren. The account 
produced in the minds of Leonard Dober and 
Tobias Leupold, two young brethren of ardent 
zeal and courage, a lively desire to go and 
preach the gospel to the negroes. Though they 
were intimate friends, they did not tell each 
other that day what was passing in their minds. 
The next morning, Dober, whose thoughts had 
been occupied by the subject the whole night, 
but whose mind was yet undecided, opened the 
book of texts, which lay before him, and read 
these words, " For it is not a vain thing for you, 
because it is your life," Deut. xxxii. 47. This 
much strengthened and encouraged him. He 
was accustomed, at this time, to meet Tobias 
Leupold every evening, to converse on the 
manner in which they had spent the day, and 
then to pray together; and as he had fixed on 
him as his companion in this w 7 ork, he told him 
what had passed in his mind. We may conceive 
his surprise and joy, when he learned that Leu- 
pold had experienced the same feelings and de- 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



275 



sires, and that he had thought of no one else as 
a companion* but his friend Dober. 

About this time, the single brethren used to 
meet every evening", and go out of the village by 
pairs to pray together. On their return, they 
walked through the streets singing hymns. One 
evening, when Dober and Leupold, in company 
with some of their brethren, were thus singing, 
they approached the count's house. Zinzendorf 
came to the door with the minister Schoeffer, 
who was then on a visit at Herrnhut, and with- 
out knowing what was passing in the minds of 
the brethren, said to him, " Sir, among these 
brethren are missionaries for St. Thomas, Green- 
land, Lapland," &c. These words filled the 
brethren with joy, and they immediately re- 
solved to open their minds to him, which they 
did by letter. The count was rejoiced at their 
design, and he sent for them, and conversed 
with them a long time. Their letter was after- 
wards read at the singing meeting, but without 
mentioning the names of the writers. 

On the 29th of July, Anthony arrived, and a 
few days after was introduced to the church. 
He gave an affecting description of the state of 
the poor negroes in the West Indies, expressing 
a great hope that many among them would be 
converted, if they could hear of the Saviour, but 
he added, that hardly any opportunity could be 
procured for instructing them, unless by becom- 
ing a slave ; since the negroes were overwhelmed 
with work, and there was no speaking to them 
except during their hours of labour. 

Dober and Leupold did not suffer themselves 



276 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



to be deterred from their purpose by these ac- 
counts ; on the contrary, they declared they 
were ready to sacrifice their lives in the service 
of their Saviour, and to sell themselves into 
slavery, in order to gain even a single soul. 
Their proposition however met with little appro- 
bation from the church. Most of the brethren 
regarded it as a well-intended, but impractica- 
ble resolution. Martin Linner, the chief elder, 
on whom devolved the superintendence of the 
choir of single brethren, would not consent to 
part with L. Dober, who was a very useful as- 
sistant in that service. To the reasons which he 
urged for this reluctance, we may add that he 
had fixed on Dober as a person fit to succeed 
him in his important office, as his feeble health 
gave him a certain warning of his approaching 
end. 

A whole year passed away before the church 
came to any determination, and even then not 
until they had submitted the matter to the lot, 
by which it was determined that Leupold ought 
not to go for the present. But as Dober did not 
the less persist in his project, the count, who 
was entirely of his mind, asked him if he also 
would submit himself to the same decision. He 
replied, that as to the conviction of his own 
mind there was no necessity, but for the satis- 
faction of the brethren they might do w r hat they 
wished. On this they requested him to draw 
one from a number of slips of paper, on which 
were written different sentences, and he drew 
the following, " Let the youth go, for the Lord 
is with him." This put an end to all hesitation ; 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 277 



Dober received his appointment, and Linner gave 
him his blessing in the name of the church. As 
he did not wish to go alone, he asked them to 
give him David Nitschmann for a companion, 
at least till the mission was established. The 
church made this proposal to Nitschmann, who 
immediately agreed to it, although he had a 
wife and children whom he was obliged to leave 
in Europe. 

On the 18th of August he took leave of the 
church, and left Herrnhut on the 21st, accom- 
panied by the count as far as Budissin, several 
leagues distant from Herrnhut. Zinzendorf gave 
each of them a ducat, (about half-a-guinea,) be- 
sides three dollars each, which they had received 
from the church, and with this sum they set off, 
full of joy and gratitude, to travel to Copenha- 
gen, a distance of at least 120 leagues. 

On their journey they visited several pious 
persons, and communicated to them their design. 
But no one encouraged them to persevere, ex- 
cept the countess of Stolberg, whose christian 
conversation was long remembered with pleasure 
and comfort. Every where they were told of 
difficulties and dangers, arising from the de- 
graded state of the negroes, the unhealthiness 
of the climate, and other causes. Nevertheless, 
they resolved to proceed, persuaded as they were 
that it was the will of God, and that he would 
protect and take care of them. 

When they arrived at Copenhagen, they found 
no one inclined to favour their project. Persons 
of all ranks regarded it as a thing impossible ; 
they were told that no vessel would receive them, 
2 B 



278 



HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



that even if they should reach St. Thomas, tliey 
could not gain a subsistence, and that they would 
not be allowed to speak to the negroes. Even those 
of the directors of the West India company, who 
delighted in promoting the progress of the king- 
dom of God, and to whom they had letters of 
recommendation, would neither approve nor fa- 
vour their voyage. They particularly dwelt 
upon the condition of the slaves, and the clearness 
of provisions, insisting upon it, that whites in 
low circumstances could not subsist. When the 
brethren replied that they would work as slaves 
with the negroes, the grand chamberlain, with 
whom they were conversing one day, told them 
decidedly, that they would not be permitted to 
do it. Nitschmann then replied that he would 
work at his trade as a carpenter. " But this 
man, the potter, what will he do ?" said the 
chamberlain. " I will support him by my work," 
replied Nitschmann. 

In addition to all these difficulties, they had 
the grief of seeing Anthony draw back almost 
entirely, and recant every thing he had said. 
He however gave them a letter to his sister, 
which w r as of some service to them. In the 
midst of all these discouraging circumstances 
the brethren continued unshaken. 

Their perseverance at length induced several 
persons at Copenhagen to take an interest in 
their project; among these were the two court 
chaplains, who, being convinced that the calling 
of the brethren was from the Lord, not only 
assisted them, but brought others over to the 
same mind. The royal family having been made 



AVE ST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



279 



acquainted with their design, the queen was dis- 
posed to favour them, and one of the princesses 
sent them a sum of money for their voyage, and 
a Dutch Bible. Several other persons presented 
them with similar proofs of regard, among whom 
were some counsellors of state. 

As none of the West India company's vessels 
w T ould take them on board, one of the king's 
officers helped them to procure a passage in a 
Dutch ship bound for St. Thomas. The captain 
received them with pleasure, and the kindness 
of their friends enabled them, not only to pay 
their passage, but to furnish themselves with 
carpenter's tools for Nitschmann. They em- 
barked on the 8th of October, 1732, and the 
vessel set sail the next day. 

On the voyage the sailors often ridiculed them, 
and endeavoured to dissuade them from persist- 
ing in their purpose by the most discouraging 
representations. But the brethren were unmoved 
by these efforts ; in return they laboured to their 
utmost in seeking the conversion of their oppo- 
nents; and if they did not attain their object, 
their conduct at least soon procured for them 
kind and friendly treatment. The voyage, w 7 hich 
was often performed in three or four weeks, lasted 
ten, and was attended with much danger and 
inconvenience. In calm weather Nitschmann 
employed himself in making a sideboard for the 
captain, which pleased him so well, that on their 
arrival at St. Thomas, he recommended him to 
the whites, for their finer sorts of work. 

The missionaries arrived at St. Thomas on the 
13th of December. The text of the day was, 



280 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



" The Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the 
battle/' Isa. xiii. 4 ; and they were encouraged 
by it to believe, that as they had now entered 
the field, in the name and strength of the Lord, 
he himself would be with them, and lead them 
on to victory. 

They were reflecting on the difficulties they 
would meet with in procuring a livelihood, in a 
place where provisions were so dear, and in 
which they were entire strangers, when a negro 
came to invite triem to the house of Mr. Loren- 
zen, a planter. An old servant had given them 
a letter of recommendation to this person, who 
was his friend, and had also furnished them with 
other introductions. Mr. Lorenzen kindly offered 
them board and lodging in his own house, until 
they could procure a residence for themselves ; 
and the brethren could not but perceive, in this 
friendly act, the faithful providence of their hea- 
venly Father. 

They commenced their labours on the same 
day. In the afternoon they went to see Anthony's 
sister, and her brother Abraham, who were both 
slaves. They read to them their brother's letter, 
containing an account of his conversion, and an 
exhortation to them to follow his example. The 
words of the Saviour, John xvii. 3. " This is 
life eternal, that they may know thee, the only 
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast 
sent," being quoted in the letter, they took oc- 
casion to preach to them the glad tidings of 
redemption, and to tell them the purpose for 
which they had come to the island. Although 
the brethren could only speak German, w 7 ith a 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



281 



few Dutch words, which they had learned from 
the sailors on their voyage, the negroes under- 
stood them, and began to clap their hands for 
joy ; for to this moment they had thought these 
things the exclusive privilege of the whites, their 
masters. Anthony's sister and brother were 
deeply impressed by the truths they heard, and 
from that day considered the brethren as teachers 
sent from God to them. The brethren, who are 
always disposed to observe coincidences, remark 
that the text for this day was Matthew xi. 5. 
"The poor have the gospel preached to them." 
They sought every opportunity of conversing with 
the negroes ; they visited them on Saturdays and 
Sundays, and their success was the greater in 
winning their confidence and love, because the 
blacks had never before been treated by the 
whites with such kindness and condescension. 
The whites were much divided in their opinions 
of the brethren. Some honoured them as ser- 
vants of God, others despised them, and even 
treated them as deceivers, whom they ought, 
without delay, to drive out of the country. 
Added to this, they both suffered much from the 
climate of the country. 

Nitschmann soon found sufficient work to 
support himself and his companion ; but as he 
had been charged by the church to return as 
soon as possible after he had accompanied Dober 
to St. Thomas, the latter wished to find some 
means of gaining his living by his trade as a 
potter. In this, however, he could never suc- 
ceed, both on account of the bad quality of the 
clay, and because he had not a proper kiln ; but 



282 history or the missions to the 

as the time for Nitschmann's return was fixed 
for April, 1733, he would not detain him. They 
were, therefore, obliged to separate, and they 
parted with many tears on both sides. Nitsch- 
mann gave Dober all the money which was not 
absolutely necessary for his own passage ; and 
Dober sent a letter to the brethren at Herrnhut, 
expressing his entire satisfaction in the work in 
which he had engaged, and his confident expect- 
ation of ultimate success. Nitschmann arrived 
at Herrnhut on the 24th of July, after having 
been absent eleven months. 

Thus was Dober left alone, without any visible 
means of support. His acquaintances in the 
island had no idea that he would let his friend 
depart, and advised him to return with him to 
Europe; but he remained firm in the faith, and 
unshaken in his resolution of abiding at his post. 
Before three weeks had elapsed he received a 
proposal from the governor to become steward 
of his household. He accepted the appointment 
on condition that he should have liberty, after 
he had finished his business, to attend to the 
negroes. The governor took Dober into his ser- 
vice, as he himself said, merely on account of 
his piety. Dober expresses his feelings on this 
occasion in the following manner : — " The sailors, 
who till now had ridiculed me, were perfectly 
astonished, and counted me very fortunate; but 
I found myself far from comfortable, though I 
had improved my outward condition. For some 
time I sat at the governor's table, and had every 
thing, as the world says, that heart could wish ; 
rat I was ashamed to see myself so raised above 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



283 



my former ideas of slavery; and this new man- 
ner of living was so oppressive to me, that I w as 
often quite wretched. I could only comfort 
myself by the assurance that the Lord had placed 
me in this situation ; for I had solemnly pro- 
mised him not to seek employment from any 
one, but to give myself up implicitly to the di- 
rection of his providence. " 

In the beginning of 1734 he was attacked by 
a severe sickness, on recovering from which he 
determined to leave his situation, because it 
tended to divert him from his true calling. The 
governor consented to it with great reluctance. 
Dober hired a little room, and endeavoured to 
get his living by watching the plantations, or 
any other labour of that kind. He scarcely got 
bread and water, but he says that he found him- 
self like a bird that had recovered its liberty, 
since nothing now hindered him from being 
fully occupied with the instruction of the negroes. 
Anne, with her husband, and Abraham, her bro- 
ther, were converted ; he saw them every day, and 
was much delighted w 7 ith their manifest progress 
in knowledge and grace. At the end of April, 
however, he again accepted the offer of a planter, 
who requested him to manage a small cotton 
plantation at the extremity of the island, on 
which only eighteen negroes were employed. 

Ten months had now passed away without 
any news from Herrnhut ; and Dober inquired 
in vain of every vessel that arrived, whether there 
were any letters for him. On the 11th of June 
he was informed that another ship had reached 
the island, and before he had time to procure 



284 HISTORY Ot THE MISSIONS TO THE 



any further intelligence, his friend Leupold, and 
two other brethren, Schenk and Miksch, stood 
before him. The joy on both sides was inex- 
pressible. They passed the whole night in con- 
versation. These brethren informed him that 
eighteen persons had come with them, fourteen 
brethren and four sisters, to form a colony at 
St. Croix, where there were plantations belong- 
ing to De Pless, the king of Denmark's cham- 
berlain, but which had lain in a neglected state 
for forty years, and were overgrown with weeds 
and bushes. This news distressed Dober very 
much, as he immediately foresaw the fatal issue 
of the enterprise. His forebodings were pain- 
fully verified by the speedy death of ten of the 
colonists, who fell victims to the unhealthiness 
of the climate. 

These brethren also brought him the very im- 
portant intelligence that he had been chosen 
elder of the church at Herrnhut, in the room of 
Martin Linner, deceased. As this appointment 
required his speedy return to Europe, he quitted 
the service of the planter, to be ready when the 
first ship was to sail, and in the interim made 
himself as useful as possible to his brethren. 
He embarked on the 12th of April on board of 
the same vessel which had brought the eighteen 
colonists for St. Croix. He took with him a 
young negro, seven years old, named Oby, a 
child of a very affectionate and obedient temper, 
and who was baptized in April, 1735, as the 
first fruits of the brethren's work among the 
heathen. He died in the Lord, at Herrnhut, 
March 28, 1736. 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 285 

Dober arrived at Copenhagen on the 27th of 
November, 1734, and at Herrnhut in the month 
of February following. During the two years 
which he had spent at St. Thomas, he had the 
pleasure of seeing four negroes receive the gos- 
pel ; some others also appeared well disposed, 
^ who were afterwards truly converted to God. 

The Mission to Greenland. 

During the same visit to Denmark, in which 
the count had become acquainted with Anthony, 
the negro, he also saw two baptized Greenland- 
ers, and received much interesting information 
respecting Egede's mission to that country. Zin- 
zendorf was grieved to hear that it was doubtful 
whether the mission would be continued, and de- 
termined, if possible, to send assistance to Egede, 
the Danish missionary. The missionary spirit, 
which was then awakened at Herrnhut, favoured 
his design. While they were speaking of the 
mission to St. Thomas, some were also thinking 
about one to Greenland ; and two brethren, Mat- 
thew Stach and Fr.Bbenisch, were strongly moved 
with a desire to go to those frozen regions. 

Having seriously considered the matter, and 
sought Divine direction, they communicated their 
wish to the church. The difficulties and dangers 
of the undertaking were faithfully set before 
them, and they had to wait more than a year 
before a definitive answer was given. When at 
length it was determined to send them, Bbenisch 
being then engaged on another journey, Chris- 
tian David offered to accompany the mission to 



286 HISTORY OE THE MISSIONS TO THE 

Greenland, and Matthew Stach chose his cousin, 
Christian Stach, for his companion. They had 
only two days' notice of their departure, but their 
equipment was soon completed, for they took 
nothing with them but their clothes, trusting to 
Providence to supply their wants. A small sum 
of money presented to them by the church, being 
part of a donation just then received from a 
friend at Venice, defrayed their expenses on the 
road. They were set apart for the work by the 
elder, Augustin Neisser, by prayer and imposi- 
tion of hands, and left Herrnhut, January 19, 
1733, five months after the departure of Nitsch- 
mann and Dober for St. Thomas. 

On their arrival at Copenhagen, the brethren 
were received with great kindness by the friends 
to whom they had been recommended ; but they 
met with very little encouragement to proceed 
in their undertaking. The question was then 
agitated, whether all communication with Green- 
land should be broken off, and whether the 
vessel that was about to be sent out should bring 
back the persons stationed there, either as 
employed in trade or in the mission. The 
brethren therefore were told that they would 
soon be assassinated by the savages, or perish 
with hunger. They did not, however, suffer 
themselves to be moved by these representations, 
and having learned that the king had consented 
to the fitting out of a vessel for Goodhaab, the 
Danish colony, they obtained leave, by means 
of De Pless, to embark in her, his majesty 
writing with his own hand to Egede, to recom- 
mend them to his kind attention, 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



287 



De Pless acted with the greatest kindness and 
prudence. After proposing to the brethren every 
possible objection, and causing them to be ex- 
amined by several divines, when he saw them 
fixed in their purpose, he became a most strenu- 
ous supporter of their undertaking. He also 
introduced them to the acquaintance of several 
very pious persons of high rank, who encouraged 
them in their work, and furnished them, unsoli- 
cited, with resources sufficient to defray the ex- 
penses of their voyage and settlement in Green- 
land. 

One day, as De Pless was asking the brethren 
how they thought of supporting themselves in 
the country, they answered, that with God's as- 
sistance, they would work with their hands and 
cultivate the earth, and that they would build a 
house, in order to be chargeable to no man. 
They could scarcely believe that the country 
consisted of nothing but barren rocks. The 
minister replied that their scheme was impracti- 
cable ; for there was no vestige of wood to be 
seen in the place. " Well, then," said they, 
" we will dig into the earth. " " No, no," re- 
plied he, " you shall take wood with you to 
build yourselves a house ; there are fifty crowns 
to begin with." A collection was instantly 
made, with which the brethren were enabled to 
purchase the materials and tools necessary for 
building : beams, planks, all sorts of instru- 
ments for masonry work, a quantity of seeds, 
thread, fire-arms, fishing-tackle, grates, win- 
dows, cooking apparatus, beds, and different 
kinds of food. 

4 



288 



HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



On the 10th of April, 1733, they sailed from 
Copenhagen. They had a rapid and prosperous 
voyage, a few gales excepted, and arrived in 
Davis' Strait in the beginning of May. They 
saw the land on the 13th; but the same day a 
dreadful storm arose, which lasted four days and 
four nights, and drove them out more than fifty 
leagues to sea. At length, on the 20th, they 
arrived at Ball's River, after a voyage of six 
weeks, near the place, where they after- 
wards established the settlement, called New 
Herrnhut. 

Immediately on their landing, they waited on 
Egede. He received them in a very friendly 
manner, and promised to assist them as much 
as possible in learning the language. They 
went immediately to look in the neighbourhood 
for a habitable spot, near a stream, where they 
could build a house ; they fell on their knees, 
and consecrated it by prayer, and then began, 
without delay, to rear a hut, after the Greenland 
fashion, of stones, with turfs laid between them, 
to defend themselves and their furniture from 
the snow and rain, until they could erect their 
house. The year was pretty far advanced, the 
snow having already melted as much as is usual 
in June; yet it was so very cold, that the turfs 
often froze in their hands. On the 6th of June 
their cabin was so far completed, that they could 
enter it, which they did with thanksgiving, and 
pulled down the shed of planks, under which 
they had lodged till that time. The following 
days, until the departure of the vessel, were 
spent in writing letters to their friends. 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 289 

Matthew Stach writes thus, on the 13th of 
June : — " What we sought for in this country 
we have found ; that is, heathens, who know 
not God ; who care for nothing but catching 
seals, fish, and reindeer, and for that purpose 
are always moving about, living sometimes on 
the mainland, sometimes on one island, and 
sometimes on another. We wish to tell these 
people, that there is a God, a Saviour, a Holy 
Spirit, and we do not yet understand their lan- 
guage • we would visit them, but we know not 

P D . 

where they dwell : their whole manner is so very 
different from ours, that we cannot even make 
them understand us by signs. Thus, dear bre- 
thren, you see our situation in Greenland; but 
were not things much in the same state, when 
you first commenced at Herrnhut ? You know 
it was so. It is in situations like these that we 
may say to ourselves, ' Lose thy way, but do 
not lose thy faith !' Yes, the way may be missed 
by us here ; but we every day remember this 
word, 6 Keep thou our minds in peace/ When 
the Lord shall go before us, we will follow him ; 
we cannot walk but in his sight. When the time 
of the heathen shall come, the darkness of Green- 
land will be changed into light, and the cold 
into heat. If we can do nothing here, we will 
at least praise His great name, if for nothing 
else, yet that he has brought us low and rendered 
us little in our own eyes. May you, brethren, 
who are witnesses of the power of our Saviour, 
who keep your vessels in sanctification and 
honour before him, walk always under his eye, 
offering on the altar of your love abundance of 
2 c 



290 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



perfumes. When you write next year, trim the 
torches of your faith, that the heat may warm us 
amidst our ices." 

They had scarcely finished building their house, 
and were beginning to become acquainted with 
the poor Greenlanders, when a dreadful disease 
broke out in the country, which seemed likely to 
put a stop to the whole work. A young Green- 
land boy, who had been to Copenhagen, and had 
lately returned, brought with him the small-pox, 
which was, till that time, unknown in the coun- 
try. This scourge spread like a plague, and 
committed such ravages from September, 1735, 
to the middle of the year following, that it ap- 
peared as if the whole population would be de- 
stroyed ; for through the whole extent of the 
coast there were scarcely seven thousand inha- 
bitants, and of these from two to three thousand 
died. 

In this distress, the Danish missionary, Egede, 
was unwearied in visiting the sick and dying, in 
order to prepare them for death ; and he some- 
times took the brethren with him. In most 
places, however, they found only empty huts, or 
dwellings tenanted and surrounded with un- 
buried corpses, which they covered with stones. 
Egede received the sick into his own house, 
until it would hold no more; and he and his 
wife paid every attention to them, without any 
regard to their own safety. 

The whole country round New Herrnhut had 
become a desert for several leagues north and 
south, and was regarded as a pestiferous place. 
The brethren were attacked at the same time 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



291 



with a scorbutic disorder, which obliged them 
to take to their beds. " We are now," said they, 
" in a school of faith, and our way is altogether 
in darkness. As yet we see no signs of success 
among the heathen, and they even come to seek 
death where they should find life. If we look to 
ourselves, we see only misery both within and 
without ; we hardly know how to subsist in this 
country, and we are sick. Nevertheless, we 
believe this is for the purifying of our souls, that 
we may be more strengthened for the service of 
the Lord. We reflect with gratitude that this 
disease did not make its appearance among 
us till we were settled in our dwelling. We 
have lost all our energy, and even our ability 
to learn the language. We will, however, take 
patiently this discipline. Our Lord Jesus will 
help us, as he helps all the wretched, and we 
would only be anxious about pleasing him. We 
comfort ourselves with the thought that the 
Lord seldom permits his children to succeed but 
in the midst of a thousand difficulties. As to 
our joy, it all consists in the remembrance of the 
children -of God in Europe." 

In this distressing situation it was no small 
pleasure to them to learn, by the first vessel that 
arrived from Copenhagen, that the next would 
bring two brethren to their aid. These were 
brethren Boenisch and John Beck. They ar- 
rived at New Herrnhut on the 8th of August, 
after a long and wearisome voyage, in which 
they suffered much from the mockery and insults 
csf the sailors. 

As Christian David had only been sent out to 



292 HISTORY or THE missions to the 



accompany his brethren, and to help them in 
their first arrangements, he began to think of 
returning to Europe. 

The four brethren resolved to labour on in the 
strength of the Lord, and to sacrifice their whole 
lives to the service of the heathen, if even they 
should not for many years see any fruit of their 
efforts. On the 16th of March, 1735, they 
drew up an agreement to this effect ; they then 
took the Lord's supper, and felt themselves ani- 
mated with new faith and courage. They had 
need of it ; for soon after they experienced a 
new trial, sharper and longer than all they had 
passed through before. The preceding year they 
had been supplied with provisions by a consi- 
derable person at the court : this * T ear they had 
appeared to be entirely forgotten. They had 
not asked any assistance from the church at 
Herrnhut, who, for want of experience, knew 
not how to help them. All these circum- 
stances reduced them to a state of frightful 
distress. Their whole provision for the year 
consisted of a cask and a half of oatmeal, half 
a cask of peas, and six barrels of biscuit, 
of which they gave Christian David a part, as 
they did not wish him to depend on the crew of 
the vessel for his support. The Danish colonists 
could not assist them, how much soever they 
were inclined, because their supplies also were 
almost exhausted; they could get nothing by 
hunting or fishing, as reindeer, fish, and birds 
were very scarce; they understood nothing about 
catching seals, the principal resource of the 
country ; and the Greenlanders, who were ac- 



WEST INDIES- AND GREENLAND. 



293 



quainted with theic distress, would not sell them 
any but at a most extravagant price. Often 
during a journey of two or three days, they had 
great difficulty in procuring half a seal; and when 
that was consumed, they w r ere obliged to appease 
their hunger with shell-fish and raw sea-weed. 

At length God sent them relief through a 
Greenland stranger, who came from a distance of 
forty leagues to the south, named Ippegau, who 
offered to sell them from time to time what he 
did not absolutely want himself. They gradu- 
ally accustomed themselves to the taste of the 
seals; and with the oil, which they made from the 
fat, they cooked the little oatmeal which they 
had left, or could procure by their work at the 
factory. The dearth however still continuing, 
and Ippegau coming less frequently, and at last 
not visiting them at all, they were forced by 
hunger to venture out to sea, in an old crazy 
boat, and in very changeable weather, to the dis- 
tance of four or six leagues, or even more. Once 
they were cast by a tempest on a desert island, 
and detained three days by a severe frost, having 
their clothes drenched in sea water. At another 
time, in the month of November, after having ex- 
hausted in rowing all the strength that want had 
left them, they were obliged to pass the night in 
an uninhabited spot, where theyhad nothing to eat 
but a bit of seal, which a Greenlander had given 
them at one of their feasts ; and afterwards having 
endeavoured in vain to lie down in a hole, which 
they had made in the snow, they were obliged to 
keep themselves warm by running. In the midst 
of these severe trials, which exposed them to the 
2 c 2 



294 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 

mockery and contempt of the Greenlanders, they 
did not lose their courage. " After having suffi- 
ciently tried us," said they, " and found us faith- 
ful to our calling, the Lord Jesus will surely show 
us his glory/' 

On the return of Christian David, the brethren 
had requested the church to send out some of 
the sisters, who might manage their domestic 
concerns, that they might give themselves up 
more fully to their work. In consequence of this, 
in 1736, they sent them the widow Stach, Mat- 
thew's mother, with her two daughters, and a 
brother, who engaged to conduct them to 
Greenland. This new reinforcement arrived 
in safety ; and the vessel which brought them 
took back the aged Egede, wearied with the la- 
bours of fifteen years. Christian Stach also re- 
turned by the same vessel, to give the church a 
more particular account of the mission. 

This addition to the family, increased the wants 
and labours of the brethren, especially as they 
had not received by the vessel half the necessary 
supply of provisions. The Lord, however, sent 
them assistance from time to time, and at length 
the vessel which took back Christian Stach, hav- 
ing brought them every thiug necessary, began 
to make regular voyages with provisions, and 
this supply has been continued ever since. 

To this moment the brethren had seen no fruit 
of their labours. Those of the Greenlanders 
who came from a distance were very dull of ap- 
prehension, and soon forgot what had been said 
to them. Such as lived at Ball's River, and had 
been so many years receiving instruction, instead 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 295 

of becoming better, had rather grown worse. 
The brethren, however, did not cease to pray 
and strive ; and after five years' labour and per- 
severance, they had the happiness, on the 2nd of 
June, 1738, of seeing the first fruits of their 
mission. The following is their own account of 
this happy event : — 

" This day several of the Greenlanders came 
to visit us. Beck was busily employed in copy- 
ing part of his translation of the gospels, and the 
natives asked what there was in that book, He 
read them a portion, which we then conversed 
upon. He asked them if they had immortal 
souls? u Yes." " Where will they go after 
death ?" Some said, above ; others, below. 
" Who made heaven and earth V " We do not 
know ; it must have been some very great and 
rich man." They went on from one subject to 
another, and Beck gave them an account of the 
fall and redemption of mankind, describing in a 
very feeling manner the sufferings of the Saviour, 
and then read to them the account in the New 
Testament. Suddenly the Lord opened the heart 
of one of these savages, called Kajarnak, who 
had not heard the gospel before, and who ap- 
proached the table, crying out with great emo- 
tion, " What is that you say ? repeat it again ; 
for I too wish to be saved." " These words," 
says Beck, " penetrated my very soul, and with 
tears in my eyes, I again declared to our Green- 
lander the whole counsel of God. While I was 
thus engaged, the other brethren cajne, and be- 
gan with joy to preach the gospel to them. Some 
of them put their hands on their mouths, as they 



296 HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 



are accustomed to do when they are astonished ; 
some went away secretly, others asked us to 
teach them to pray ; and as we kneeled down 
to pray for them, they repeated every expres- 
sion we used several times over, that they might 
not forget it. In a word, there was such an ex- 
citement among them, as we had never yet seen ; 
and on leaving us, they promised to return 
again. 

" On the 18th several came again ; and Ka- 
jarnak appeared to be really under the influence 
of the Spirit of God. From that time he visited 
us more frequently, and at length came to live 
near us. Often, when we speak to him, the 
tears run down his cheeks. He is an extraor- 
dinary man, if we compare him with his more 
phlegmatic and stupid fellow-countrymen, who 
absolutely understand nothing but the common 
matters of ordinary life. He, on the contrary, 
understands every thing, and manifests the great- 
est affection for us ; he is eagerly desirous of in- 
struction, so that he seems to seize upon our 
words as they issue from our mouths. Oh, dear 
brethren, what hours of joy we now spend, after 
so many difficulties and hardships, while we are 
praying and reading witli him." 

Kajarnak soon felt a desire to tell his country- 
men what his Lord had done for his soul. He 
went to fetch his family, and others who lived 
with him in the same tent, nine persons in 
all, besides several other heathens, whom he 
prevailed upon to follow him. The brethren 
established a daily prayer-meeting for the adults, 
a school for the children, and another meeting 



WEST INDIES AND GREENLAND. 



297 



for the private instruction of some, whom they 
could regard as candidates for baptism. They 
continued also, as long as the season permitted 
them, to visit those natives who were scattered 
along the coast, and here and there found atten- 
tive hearers. 

In the beginning of 1739, there was an ex- 
tremely hard frost, and in consequence so great 
a famine, that several of the natives died of cold 
and hunger. Many of them came to seek an 
asylum with the brethren, whose two houses 
were so filled for some time, that they could 
hardly move in them. Two years before, they 
were but too happy in their distress, when these 
poor heathen would sell them a few bones, 
which they knew not what to do w ith, loading 
them all the while with contempt and insult. 
Now these very brethren used to have fifteen or 
twenty of the Greenlanders at every meal, to 
whom they had the pleasure of giving food, and, 
at the same time of teaching them the w T ay to 
obtain the true Bread of life. Kajarnak assisted 
them in this work with much zeal, and several 
received saving impressions, which they carried 
away with them in the spring, when they re- 
turned to their dwellings. 

On easter sunday the brethren administered 
the ordinance of baptism to Kajarnak, and three 
of his family. After these four persons had de- 
clared the ground of their hope before several other 
natives and the brethren, one of the missionaries 
offered up a fervent prayer, and these first fruits 
of Greenland were then introduced into the 
christian church by baptism. The new converts 



298 FROM 1736 TO 1739. 

shed many tears, and the spectators appeared 
deeply interested. The four baptized persons 
received new names; Kajarnak was called Sa- 
?nuel. 

Such were the first years of this great work, 
undertaken amidst so may formidable difficul- 
ties. The joy of these conversions was however 
soon disturbed by the necessity, in which Kajar- 
nak found himself, of escaping to the south from 
his enemies, who were seeking his life, and who 
had already murdered his brother-in-law, who 
lived with him. We may judge of the anxious 
distress of the missionaries at seeing this first 
fruit of their labours driven to a distance from 
them ; we can much better conceive the joy they 
must have felt, when, at one of their love-feasts 
about a year afterwards, he suddenly made his 
appearance, not only without having received 
any spiritual injury, but bringing with him some 
companions as the fruits of his labours. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



AN ACCOUNT OF SOME OTHER EMIGRATIONS FROM 
EOHEMIA, BESIDES THOSE OF THE BRETHREN, 
FROM THEIR COMMENCEMENT TO THE ESTA- 
BLISHMENT OF THE REFUGEES IN PROTESTANT 
COUNTRIES, 1720 — 1740. 

ONZinzendorPs return from Copenhagen, in 1731 , 
he found more than seventy persons from Mora- 
via, who had taken refuge at Herrnhut. He 
learned also, that the subject of emigration se- 
riously occupied the attention of the govern- 
ments of Lusatia and Bohemia, and that the set- 
tlement of Herrnhut was threatened with extinc- 
tion. This emigration would not have been so 
much noticed, if it had been the only one of the 
kind ; but at this period there was a great ex- 
citement among the protestants of Bohemia, and 
thirty thousand at once left the province of Salz- 
berg, in Austria, some of whom went to Prus- 
sia, and others to America. In relating the his- 
tory of the brethren, we ought not to forget the 
other descendants of the ancient church. That 
we may not interrupt the course of our history, 
we shall here give a succinct account of them, 
from the time when they appeared distinct from 
the brethren of Herrnhut, about the year 1720, 
to the period when they became mixed with 



300 EMIGRATIONS FROM BOHEMIA, BESIDES 

other bodies of christians in different protestant 
countries. 

About the commencement of this century, an 
awakening had taken place in the parts of Bo- 
hemia inhabited by the descendants of the an- 
cient brethren. For some years Christian David 
had visited that country, in order to promote this 
religious movement. In several villages round 
Litiz, he found a considerable number of chris- 
tians. He did not try to persuade them to 
emigrate, but endeavoured to strengthen them 
in the love of the truth, leaving it to Providence 
to decide whether they should leave their country 
or not. Three principal emigrations arose out 
of this revival, of each of which we shall give 
some brief account. 

The colony of Liberda. 

According to one of their own historians, this 
colony consisted of about seven Bohemian fami- 
lies, who came from Upper Lusatia, where they 
had resided some considerable time, to settle at 
Great Hennersdorf, on the estates of the baroness 
deGersdorf, count Zinzendorfs aunt. In 1727, 
this lady sent for a student out of Silesia, named 
Liberda, to be their pastor, and to superintend 
an orphan school, that had been established in 
the place. By his preaching, and the private 
meetings he held, a great revival was produced 
among the Bohemians of Upper Lusatia, who 
came to hear him from all parts. They soon 
began to hold meetings among themselves in 
different places, but being disturbed, a number 
2 



THOSE OF THE BRETHREN, 1720 — 1740. 301 

of them united together at Hennersdorf, where 
they enjoyed religious liberty; others returned 
into Bohemia, to preach the gospel to their coun- 
trymen, and persuaded a considerable number 
of them to emigrate ; so that in four years the 
colony amounted to four hundred persons. The 
baroness de Gersdorf, who did not much approve 
of her nephew's operations* wished to found a 
kind of rival settlement to Herrnhut. Liberda, 
who at first had been much united in opinion 
with the brethren, was brought over to the same 
mind, and dwellings were erected for the newly- 
arrived emigrants, near Hennersdorf. After a 
little time, however, the baroness quarrelled with 
them on some political matters ; and an order 
was sent from the king, forbidding the authorities 
of Upper Lusatia to receive any fresh emigrants, 
and enjoining them to prohibit their subjects 
from going into Bohemia to excite emigration. 

The Bohemians being required to engage, on 
oath, to obey tne above-mentioned mandate, and 
to hold no more private meetings, refused to 
comply, and the colony was broken up. A large 
number of them sought refuge at Herrnhut. The 
brethren received them kindly, but Zinzendorf 
found himself unable to protect them, as his 
aunt would not relinquish her claim on their 
allegiance ; and they were consequently dis- 
missed. Some of them were imprisoned, and 
endured much suffering. A deputation, con- 
sisting of Liberda and eight other persons, was 
then sent to Berlin, to entreat permission of the 
king of Prussia to settle there. Without waiting 
however for an answer, a companv of about 
2 D 



302 EMIGRATIONS FROM BOHEMIA, BESIDES 

five hundred began their journey, and reached 
Prussia in safety. But the fear of offending 
the emperor of Austria, prevented the king from 
openly countenancing them, and orders were 
issued to re-conduct them to the frontiers. After 
wandering about in much misery and danger, 
many of them found means to get secretly to 
Berlin, where they 'lived together in great po- 
verty, unnoticed in any way by the government, 
and held private meetings for worship, according 
to their own forms. Meanwhile Liberda had 
fallen into the hands of his enemies, and was 
imprisoned. 

In 1735, a considerable change in their favour 
took place. As it appeared that their emigration 
had not produced any unpleasant consequences, 
their efforts to gain an honest living, and the 
good order they observed among themselves, 
conciliated for them the regard of several per- 
sons of distinction, and even of the king him- 
self. They procured them work, gave assistance 
to their poor, and at length went so far as to 
furnish them with a Lutheran pastor and school- 
master, and to build them a church in the 
suburb of Fredericstadt, which was dedicated on 
the 12th of May, 1737, and called Bethlehem 
church. 

In the meantime, the imperial court having 
instituted an inquiry into the circumstances of 
their emigration to Berlin, and interposing no 
obstacles to their reception, ground was assigned 
them for building, and money given or lent to them 
for the purpose, and they built the street called 
William Street. To complete their joy, their 



THOSE OF THE BRETHREN, 1720—1740. 303 

old pastor, Liberda, who had escaped from 
prison, returned to take charge of them once 
more. Their happiness, however, was soon dis- 
turbed by divisions among themselves. In the 
year 1735, when they had a Lutheran pastor 
assigned them, some had been in the habit of 
private communion; these, therefore, not ap- 
proving of the Lutheran mode of taking the 
Lord's supper with the wafer, requested their 
pastor to give them the bread according to the re- 
formed custom. The latter, having consulted se- 
veral divines upon the subject, who dissuaded him, 
refused their request. Liberda, who succeeded 
him, petitioned the king, and obtained permis- 
sion to administer the ordinance in both forms. 
In the morning he gave it to some in the Lu- 
theran manner, and in the afternoon or evening, 
to others with the bread. 

The colony of Schulz. 

The history of this colony will be the more in- 
teresting to us, as the historian, Crantz, lived 
among them for some time, and was their pastor. 

At Gerlachsheim, near Goerlitz, one or two 
families of Bohemians had resided for several 
years, to whom the authorities had promised, 
that as soon as they amounted to eight persons, 
they would build them a church, provide them 
a pastor, and give them land to cultivate. In 
1728, having reached the prescribed number, 
they applied to the government for a preacher, 
and a student named Schulz, who had just 
finished his studies, felt disposed to accept the 



304 EMIGRATIONS FROM BOHEMIA, BESIDES 



call. This young man had been successively 
driven from two places on account of the gospel, 
and afterwards spent some time in a school for 
poor children, established by SchoefTer. In one 
of his visits to Silesia, in 1728, he was again 
accused of holding prohibited meetings, and 
thrown into prison at Brieg, from which he was 
honourably released after a few months. 

Schulz was at Great Hennersdorf when he 
received the invitation to go and take charge of 
the Bohemians of Gerlachsheim. He accepted 
it as a call from the Lord, and lived among the 
people in great poverty ; for be received no re- 
gular salary, and the poor Bohemians could 
give him very little. Suspected of pietism, he 
was looked upon with an evil eye through all 
the country, and the authorities watched him 
narrowly, and put him under close restraint. All 
these things, however, did not damp his zeal ; 
poor as they were, he made a collection for the 
building of a church, a minister's house, a school- 
room, and an asylum for poor children ; and his 
appeal was not unsuccessful. Fresh refugees 
continually arriving, some benevolent merchants 
of Franconia and Suabia kindly assisted him, 
and enabled him for some years to furnish the 
new-comers with such supplies as were neces- 
sary in their extremely destitute condition. 

Schulz was indefatigable in his duties. He in- 
structed the children every day; on the Lord's 
day he preached for three hours in the morning, 
and almost as lon^r in the afternoon ; he held 
meetings for conversation several times in the 
week, and interested himself very warmly in the 



THOSE OF Tilt 1UIETI1REX, 1720—1740. 305 

concerns of every individual of his flock. He 
procured the ordinances of baptism and the 
Lord's supper to be administered by a German 
pastor, because, in order to preserve his own 
liberty and that of his Bohemian brethren, he 
did not wish to be ordained. When he was 
urged to this by his parishioners, that he might 
have more influence against his adversaries, and 
administer the ordinances to them in their own 
language, he used generally to say, " I heartily 
consent to preach the gospel to you, but I wish 
also to preserve my own liberty and yours. I 
do not think of remaining always with you, but 
hope some day to preach to the Calmucks. You 
ought to cast in your lot with the Moravian 
brethren of Herrnhut. If I get myself ordained, 
and you are made an ordinary Lutheran parish, 
you will be obliged, at my death or departure, 
to take the pastor they will give you, and keep 
him, whatever his character may be ; but if I 
leave you on the simple footing of a student or 
schoolmaster, you will be at liberty to take one 
of your own number, or from among the Mora- 
vian brethren ; and the time will certainly come, 
when you will be called to exercise this liberty. ,, 
The Bohemians at Gebbardsdorf and the sur- 
rounding places used to attend his preaching ; 
and after a short time he became the instrument 
of a new revival on the frontiers of Bohemia, 
and a fresli emigration, which we shall now pro- 
ceed to notice. 

About the year 1730, two brethren from Herrn- 
hut, visiting their friends in Bohemia, were 
arrested and thrown into prison. This event 
2 d 2 



306 EMIGRATIONS FROM BOHEMIA, BESIDES 

roused the feelings of the christians in that coun- 
try ; and some awakened persons from Gerlach- 
sheim having gone thither about the same time, 
a religious movement was excited among them ; 
but their meetings were soon discovered, and 
persecution induced the brethren to seek their 
liberty in emigration. In 1732, a body of four- 
teen persons directed their course towards Ger- 
lachsheim, and in 1 733 and 1734, several other 
families followed, most of whom had endured 
imprisonment and torture for the name of Jesus, 
They were, for the most part, obliged to leave 
their country in the bitterest frost, and during 
the long nights of winter, crossing the mountains 
by paths untrodden by any human foot, that 
they might not be discovered, experiencing the 
most wonderful escapes. 

This arrival considerably augmented the colony 
of Gerlachsheim, especially after that of Great 
Hennersdorf was dissolved, in 1732. Most of 
these people were descendants of the ancient 
United Brethren. They had lived in the neigh- 
bourhood of Litiz, where, even as late as 1760 
and 1770, the inhabitants still spoke of the 
ancient prayer-houses of the brethren, which 
they called Braterske Zbory, or the Brethren s 
Meetings. As soon as they heard of the re- 
establishment of their ancient church, in 1725, 
they immediately concluded that these were the 
people with whom they ought to unite, and they 
emigrated, not only with the design of finding 
liberty of conscience, but also of renewing their 
union with the Moravian brethren at Herrnhut. 
In these circumstances it was no small joy to 



THOSE OF THE BRETHREN, 1720—1740. 307 

them to find their pastor, who preached to them 
in the Bohemian tongue, in close connexion with 
the brethren ; he frequently went to Herrnhut 
with his parishioners, often held conferences 
with the count, and took that establishment for 
his pattern in organizing his own church. He 
not only preached frequently both to the old 
and the young, and held private meetings at his 
own house, but also delivered particular ad- 
dresses to men and women, married and single 
persons, widowers and widows. He divided each 
of these classes into different bands, the mem- 
bers of which conversed with one another on 
spiritual things. The leaders of these gave him 
an account, every Saturday evening, of the 
week's transactions, and thus furnished him with 
an excellent opportunity of applying his dis- 
courses to the circumstances of all his hearers. 

Speaking of these things, he says, " That 
which gave a savour and blessing to my engage- 
ments was, that these beloved souls did not confine 
themselves to my preaching ; they exhorted one 
another, and passed their time in their private 
rooms, without any detriment to their labour, in 
reading, praying, singing, and holy conversation. 
He who could read best, fixed to his wheel or 
his loom a little desk, on which he placed the 
Bible, and read to the rest. In every room there 
were two or three classes, of eight, twelve, or 
sixteen persons each ; and after the reading they 
conversed together, and then began to sing and 
pray again." 

In each of these rooms one person was appoint- 
ed, and sometimes two, to watch over the whole ; 



308 EM LG RATIONS FROM BOHEMIA, BESIDES 

and as the unmarried sisters signified to Schulz: 
their desire to have a separate dwelling, he hired 
a house for them to work and live together. He 
likewise procured a distinct apartment for the 
widows, and furnished them with every thing 
necessary for their labour and subsistence. 

All the members of this church watched over 
one another strictly, and such as did not walk 
worthily were excluded from the community, 
until they should publicly acknowledge their sin 5 
and amend their live?. 

The emigration continued undisturbed till the 
year 1736. About this period however seventy- 
two persons of the village of Cyerweny having 
emigrated at once, the governor of the district 
complained to the court of Saxony, and was in- 
formed that his subjects had no right to pro- 
tection from any other government, and that he 
was at liberty to arrest them wherever he might 
rind them. They sought for them in vain at 
Herrnhut, where they were not ; and made no 
inquiry at Gerlachsheim, to which place they 
had really gone. 

The friends of Schulz however advised him to 
retire with his flock into some more distant 
asylum. He also exhorted his people to take 
this advice, but they replied, " Where thou art, 
we will be also." As he was afraid that, if he 
did not withdraw, they would not only reclaim 
the seventy-two, but all those who had emi- 
grated in former years, and that this would dis- 
courage future emigrations, he retired to Cotbus, 
whither the rest followed him. But the autho- 
rities of Gerlachsheim represented this as a loss 



THOSE OF THE BRETHREN, 1720 — 1740. 309 

of their subjects, and endeavoured to force those 
who remained to make it good. The poor crea- 
tures not being able to raise the sums required, 
were robbed of all their property ; and, in the 
month of February, 1737, were obliged to leave 
their dwellings, and wander through deep snows, 
as destitute as when they came out of Bohemia, 
in order to follow their preacher into his new 
exile. They endured the most dreadful dangers, 
and experienced wonderful deliverances. 

The third colony. 

At Cotbus they found two hundred other Bo- 
hemians, who had reached that place before 
them. These persons, influenced by the great 
desire of emigration which prevailed in those 
parts for some years, had at different times 
reached Cotbus. The king's orders not allow- 
ing them to settle, they were once more obliged 
to depart, after having enjoyed the instructions 
of a faithful minister during six months. They 
still thought of stopping in the neighbourhood, 
and sending for the same minister to be with 
them ; but the latter dying about the end of the 
year 1736, the arrival of their countrymen from 
Gerlachsheim induced them to join them, and to 
take Schulz for their pastor. About the same 
time the king, who had just openly received the 
emigrants from Great Hennersdorf, ordered these 
likewise to repair to Berlin, where land should 
be given to them, to cultivate. Those who were 
originally with Schulz were settled within the 



310 



V ROM 1720 TO 1740. 



city, and the last company at Rucksdorf, about 
a league distant. 

At the same time Schulz was regularly ap- 
pointed pastor over his own flock, and it became 
necessary, notwithstanding the reluctance which 
he had formerly expressed, that he should con- 
sent to be ordained, which ceremony was per- 
formed in Bethlehem church. Thus were these 
refugees settled ; and in this church they had 
preaching, both in the German and Bohemian 
tongues, to a great congregation of both nations. 
Schulz also continued his private meetings, and 
in this way the Bohemians found themselves de- 
livered out of all their miseries, and established 
in peace. The first colony settled at Berlin was 
still under the care of Liberda. Divisions un- 
happily prevailed among them, and Schulz at 
length found it expedient to remove to Ruchs- 
dorf, that he might avoid taking part in unpro- 
fitable disputes. Efforts were made to unite the 
two colonies, but without success. Liberda and 
Schulz were not kindred minds. The first body 
ultimately divided themselves among the Luthe- 
rans and the reformed : the followers of Schulz 
gradually adopted the worship and government 
of the church of the United Brethren, which they 
soon afterwards joined. 



CHAPTER XV. 



FROM THE TIME OF THE FIRST COMMISSION OF 
INQUIRY TO THE SECOND, 1732—1736. 

A. D. 1732. Movements so decided as those 
we have been describing, could not fail to excite 
uneasiness in the surrounding governments, and 
to draw their particular attention to Herrnhut. 
After some less serious proceedings, which had 
ended always to the count's satisfaction, the court 
of Saxony at length ordered a formal inquiry to 
be made into the state of this rising colony. 
This was an event of the highest importance to 
the church ; for, according to the dispositions of 
the commissioners, and other circumstances at- 
tending the inquiry, it might issue either in the 
establishment, or entire ruin of the brethren's 
cause. Yet, although the brethren could not 
but consider this inquiry as a crisis in their 
affairs, they were persuaded that, if the issue 
were favourable, it promised them greater secu- 
rity than they had yet enjoyed. Until that mo- 
ment they had lived in continual fear, owing to 
the calumnies of their enemies, of losing the 
protection of the government, and of being 
sent back to the countries whence they came. 
It was therefore with much joy, that, on the 
19th of January, 1732, they witnessed the arrival 



312 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 

of the chief magistrate of the principality of 
Goerlitz, accompanied by the secretary of the 
district, for the purpose of holding the inquiry. 
The commissioners were directed to ascertain 
whether the brethren of Herrnhut had promoted 
the late emigrations from Bohemia and Moravia, 
and to procure exact information about their 
doctrine and internal arrangements. 

The day after the arrival of the commissioners 
was the Lord's day, and they attended all the 
meetings ; the brethren making no change what- 
ever, that they might obtain accurate informa- 
tion on every subject. 

On the 21st, after morning prayer, the com- 
missioners commenced their inquiry. All the 
inhabitants of the place were summoned to the 
hall where they usually held their meetings, and 
the president of the commission called each of 
the Moravian emigrants in his turn, and inter- 
rogated him on his conversion, the persecutions 
he had endured, the design and occasion of his 
emigrating, &c. and then drew up a correct ac- 
count of the whole. There were emigrants from 
twenty different places, forty of whom had suf- 
fered imprisonment. They then proceeded to 
the examination of the institutions and esta- 
blishments of the church. Afterwards they vi- 
sited the orphan house, and the seminary for 
the young men, the schools, the dispensary, and 
the residence of the unmarried brethren. 

When the commission had finished its labours, 
the count added to its papers a detailed memo- 
rial, in confirmation of every part of the in- 
formation collected, a letter addressed to the 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 313 



king*, and some other documents of that kind, 
and the commissioners withdrew, apparently 
quite satisfied. Although the brethren had to 
wait some time before they received the result 
of this inquiry, yet they perceived from the first, 
that an impression had been made very favoura- 
: ble to their cause. 

The Bohemian emigrations, which soon af- 
terwards took place, however, induced the king 
of Poland to prohibit the authorities of Upper 
Lusatia from receiving any fresh refugees from 
Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia ; and the preju- 
dices of the court of Saxony were again excited 
against the count, so that he was directed, by 
the royal edict, dated November, 1732, to sell 
his estates, which was nothing else than a noti- 
fication of his approaching banishment. Having 
for a long time perceived the situation of his af- 
fairs, he had already begun to convey his pro- 
perty over to his wife, and therefore proceeded 
to finish what he had begun. At the same time 
also he resigned all his civil offices at Dresden, 
in order to give himself wholly to the work of 
God, and especially to the care of the church at 
Herrnhut. 

In the spring of 1732, God raised up for 
them a distinguished counsellor and helper in the 
minister Spangenberg, a learned and judicious 
man, who afterwards rendered the most import- 
ant assistance to the brethren. He was at that 
time assistant professor of divinity, and in- 
spector of the orphan house at Halle ; but as 
his religious sentiments led him to decline unit- 
ing in the public communion of the national 
2 E 



314 Prom the first to the second 



church, he was dismissed, and repaired to 
Herrnhut, where he was joyfully received, and 
chosen by the count, in the presence of the 
church, to be his assistant. 

This epoch is still more memorable for a very 
remarkable developement of the future destinies 
of Zinzendorf, and of the brethren's church at 
Herrnhut. Towards the end of the year 1732, 
this church began to desire a separate pastor, 
alleging among other plausible reasons, that 
Herrnhut then contained nearly five hundred 
souls ; that aged and infirm persons could not 
attend the church at Bertholdsdorf ; and that 
they could not require the pastor of that place 
to go every Lord's day, in winter and inclement 
weather, to Herrnhut, to hold the meeting for 
strangers. 

With these views, then, a memorial was pre- 
sented to the magistrates, requesting a pastor, as 
assistant to the pastor of Bertholdsdorf. They 
proposed a young minister from Tubinguen, of 
the name of SteinhofFer. The pastor Rothe 
gave his consent to this request, and notice was 
given of it to the competent authorities. Stein- 
hofFer, as a Lutheran divine, durst not accept 
the call, without taking the advice of some men 
of influence in his own church. He therefore 
proposed this question to the divines of Tubin- 
guen : " Can the church of the Moravian bre- 
thren, on the supposition of its agreement in the 
Lutheran evangelical doctrine, maintain the ec- 
clesiastical constitution and discipline it has held 
for three hundred years, and yet preserve its 
connexion with the said evangelical church ? " 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732— 1736- 315 



As about the same time, Zinzendorf received 
the order to sell his estates, and he thought it 
his duty instantly to yield to the spirit of that 
order, and quit the country, he repaired to Tu- 
binguen, in order to give the professors who 
were about to answer this delicate question, all 
the necessary information, and, as he thought, 
to dispose them to a favourable opinion. 

The divines not only gave a positive answer in 
the affirmative, but signified also their conviction 
of the usefulness and necessity of the private dis- 
cipline of the brethren. Nothing then seemed to 
oppose the wishes of the church at Herrnhut ; but 
fresh difficulties soon arose, among which was an 
order received, " That SteinhofTer must not be 
merely the assistant to the pastor of Bertholdsdorf, 
but his substitute at Herrnhut." This was what 
neither Rothe nor SteinhofTer wished, and the 
last consequently accepted another situation. 

Upon this, with the permission of the elec- 
tor, they sent for two ministers from Wurtem- 
berg, to take charge of the church in the way pro- 
posed. Herrnhut however had just passed into 
the hands of a new sovereign, who, as soon as 
Zinzendorf notified to the court that he had con- 
formed to its orders, in regard to the sale of his 
estates, granted him permission to remain in the 
country. The Moravian refugees also were al- 
lowed to stay, as long as they continued quiet. 

The church however clearly perceived that 
the edict, which granted them toleration and 
protection, furnished their enemies with con- 
tinual opportunities of annoying them ; and as, in 
addition to this, the authorities of Upper Lusatia 



316 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 



were forbidden to receive any more refugees, 
the brethren determined that it would be better 
for them not to remain all together in one place, 
but to form different colonies, in countries where 
they might be received without exciting the 
jealousy of the governments. The inhabitants 
of Herrnhut, therefore, soon divided themselves 
into two bodies : the one, composed chiefly of 
people of the country, and other Lutherans, were 
disposed to remain ; the other, consisting of 
the descendants of the Moravian brethren, who 
wished to preserve their religious rights and pri- 
vileges, prepared to form colonies, or establish- 
ments of their own, in christian countries, and 
missions of the same kind among the heathen. 
By this means they hoped to procure for them- 
selves, and other brethren who might be disposed 
to leave Moravia, a more settled residence, and 
to find opportunities of usefulness in other 
places, especially in heathen lands. 

An opportunity of establishing the first of 
these colonies very soon presented itself; and 
although in its commencement but little success 
attended the work, yet important and happy ef- 
fects eventually followed. A trading company 
of Cophenhagen had just purchased, and wished 
to cultivate the large and beautiful island of 
St. Croix, which the French had abandoned, 
and left uncultivated for forty years past. De 
Pless, whom we have mentioned in the ac- 
count of the missions to St. Thomas and Green- 
land, had bought some estates there, and thought 
he could not do better for his lands, and 
the negroes on them, than to request count 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 317 

Zinzendorf to send two brethren to each of the 
six plantations, which lie proposed to establish, 
to discharge the duties of overseers; and, at the 
same time, to preach the gospel among them. 
Several of the brethren wished to accept this 
kind offer, and four men and their wives, with 
ten single brethren, were chosen, conducted by 
Tobias Leupold, who, in 1731, had offered to go 
on the mission to St. Thomas. This colony set 
out for Copenhagen on the 18th or -20th of 
August, and were accompanied as far as that 
city by Spangenberg. 

Though the brethren arrived at Copenhagen 
on the 13th of September, they did not embark 
until the 12th of November. The whole ship's 
crew amounted to two hundred persons, and the 
vessel was so small, that they found themselves 
much straitened for room. To the eighteen 
colonists a cabin was assigned in the fore part 
of the ship, on the second floor under the deck, 
not more than nine feet square, and so low, that 
they could not stand upright ; they were, there- 
fore, obliged to lie down most part of their time ; 
and this was the more distressing, as the weather 
was often so stormy, that they could not go upon 
deck for some days, to breathe the pure air. 
The sailors, too, were so rough and unfeeling, 
that however painful and unwholesome their 
situation might be, the brethren thought them- 
selves happy in having a corner to themselves, 
where they might abide in peace, and hold their 
morning and evening meetings for worship ; for 
they had established among themselves the same 
religious exercises which existed at Herrnhut. 
2 e 2 



318 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 

The weather proved so unfavourable, that they 
were compelled to take refuge in a Norwegian 
port, called Tremmesund, where they remained 
till nearly the middle of March, 1734. After a 
very tedious and painful voyage, in which they 
suffered much, particularly from want of water, 
and the ravages of the scurvy, of which disease 
several of the sailors died, they arrived at St. 
Thomas, on the 11th of June. 

We have already observed, that Dober, the 
only missionary then at St. Thomas, immediately 
foresaw the bad success of this enterprise. The 
island of St. Croix had become a desert, covered 
with thick brushwood and vast forests, through 
which the easterly winds could not penetrate to 
purify the air. The brethren, however, took 
courage, and went over with about a dozen ne- 
groes ; but they were so ill able to bear the 
scorching climate, that they soon fell sick, and 
ten of them died in a few months. An attempt 
was made, it is true, to supply their places the 
following year, 1735, by a fresh colony of ten 
persons ; and in 1737 a few more went out, ac- 
companied by a physician from Copenhagen ; 
but the enterprise failed at that time. Part of 
the brethren died without doing any apparent 
good, others returned to Europe, and others 
went to join the mission at St. Thomas. 

A. D. 1734. Zinzendorf had long been de- 
sirous of entering the ministry. He had now 
determined, after serious deliberation and con- 
ference with the church, confirmed also by the 
decision of the lot, to seek the accomplishment 
of his wishes. 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732 — 1736. 319 



He had no need to go through a course of 
studies, but only to present himself to some theo- 
logical faculty, in order to pass his examination. 
Several reasons led him to fix upon Stralsund 
for that purpose. A rich merchant of that city 
having asked the church for a teacher, the count 
availed himself of the opportunity, and went to 
Stralsund for that purpose, concealing his real 
name, both from the head of the family and the 
professors, who, not knowing him personally, 
and misled by the recent publications against 
Zinzendorf, had already begun to preach and 
write against him. 

He arrived on the 29th of March, and imme- 
diately presented himself to the superintendent, 
under the name of Mr. Freydek, one of the titles 
of the house of Zinzendorf. He was asked to 
preach, and gladly accepted the invitation. His 
first discourse from the pulpit was delivered with 
much feeling and unusual freedom of utterance. 
He became very intimate with the superintendent, 
so that the latter, among other things, showed 
him the plan of a work which he was writing 
against Zinzendorf, and the brethren at Herrnhut. 
The count asked him if he had read the writings 
of Zinzendorf; and, on his candid avowal that 
he had not yet seen them, the count advised him 
to make himself acquainted with them. He did 
so, and the result was very satisfactory to Zin- 
zendorf. 

After some further conversations, he made 
himself known to the professors, and afterwards 
preached four times, much to the satisfaction 
of the people. At length he requested of the 



320 



F 110 M THE I'l R St TO T li £ S LCO X U 



professors a course of conferences, in order to 
his examination, which lasted some days, and 
was, at his own request, unusually severe. 

The conferences ended, the count delivered 
his sword to the superintendent, declaring his 
resolution never to wear it again, but to devote 
himself entirely to the work of the Lord. The 
professors then gave him a very full and hbnour- 
able attestation of his orthodoxy, and he re- 
turned on the 19th of April, after making him- 
self known to several other individuals, and 
among the rest to the merchant, whose children 
he had instructed during the four weeks he re- 
mained in the place. 

It was not till the 21st of November that he 
announced publicly to the church that he had 
entered into the ministry. The brethren re- 
ceived the information with very great pleasure, 
and expressed their sincere benedictions and good 
wishes. A short time afterwards he set out for 
Tubinguen, having sent a declaration of his de- 
cision to the divines of that place, and requested 
ordination. In this letter he gives an account of 
his early serious impressions, states his reasons 
for wishing to become a minister of the gospel, 
and professes himself willing to fill any office, 
and discharge any duty in the church of God. 

The faculty published an answer to this de- 
claration, fully approving the count's desire, and 
acknowledging him as a minister of the gospel. 
On the same day, the 19th of December, he 
preached in the cathedral, and in the hospital 
church ; thus making his public entrance on the 
ministry. 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736- 321 



Another object, which occupied the brethren's 
attention at the commencement of this year, 
was the project of a mission among the Lap- 
landers and the Samo'iedes, a people in the 
north-west of Siberia. In the early part of 
January, when some intelligence about the 
spread of the gospel was being communicated 
to the church, several brethren again manifested 
a readiness to engage in a mission, particularly 
to Lapland. In consequence of this, three of 
them were sent thither, with express directions 
to address themselves only to those of the 
heathen among whom as yet there were no 
missionaries, that they might not intrude upon 
any one's labours. 

They arrived at Stockholm in November, 
where they stayed to learn the language, and 
were much blessed to many souls. In the year 
1735, they commenced their labours in Swedish 
Lapland ; but as they found everywhere esta- 
blishments for the conversion of the people of 
the country, they resolved on going into Russian 
Lapland. In 1736, two of them returned as far 
as Kcenigsburg, where they were joined by an- 
other brother, with whom they went to Moscow. 
There they found some pious and enlightened 
individuals, who gave them the neceasary assist- 
ance and directions for repairing to Archangel, 
where they met with some Samo'iedes, who 
wished to take them to their country. On ap- 
plying for their passports, however, they were 
arrested, on suspicion of being Swedish spies, 
confined in separate prisons, and, after under- 
going examinations for three weeks, they were 



322 



FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 



sent to Petersburg. On their way their guards 
were at first very harsh, but were softened 
by the meekness of their prisoners. One day, 
as they were crossing a frozen lake, the ice 
broke, and the sledge sunk with two of the 
brethren and the two soldiers. The third assisted 
them all to get out of the water ; and from that 
time the soldiers treated the brethren with kind- 
ness, since, instead of making their escape and 
leaving them to be drowned, they had been the 
means of saving their lives. At Petersburg 
they were imprisoned and examined for five 
weeks longer ; but their simplicity and frank- 
ness delivered them. Several persons of rank 
showed them great kindness, and at length they 
received a passport for Lubec, and were dis- 
missed. 

After this, the brethren meditated the settle- 
ment of the first colony in a christian country. 
It will be recollected, that the object of such 
colonies was to provide an asylum for those 
Moravian refugees who might still arrive in 
Upper Lusatia, where they would not now be 
received, that they might not be sent back 
into bondage in their own country. The princi- 
pality of Holstein, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, 
was fixed ujpon for this colony, and five brethren 
set out from Herrnhut to Kiel, with a recom- 
mendation from Jablonsky. 

This colony was to be established on the 
same footing as that of Herrnhut, and with the 
same relation to the national church. The 
duke wished to receive them, but the consistory 
interposed some difficulties, and, in the begin- 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 323 

ning of the year 1736, the brethren departed 
into a part of Holstein, which was under the 
government of the king of Denmark, where they 
founded a settlement, which they called Pilger- 
ruh, or the " Pilgrim's Rest." The first years 
of this colony seemed to promise some repose ; 
but dissensions among themselves, and difficul- 
ties with the government, led to its dissolution, 
in 1741. 

Another company of the brethren directed 
their course towards Georgia, in North America. 
The count had formerly corresponded with the 
managers of a colony there, who now offered 
him a quantity of land for the use of the 
brethren ; and as it was probable this might bring 
them into communication with the Indians, and 
particularly the Cherokees, who appeared well 
disposed, some brethren resolved to undertake 
the mission. The first colony set out in No- 
vember, 1734, and met with Spangenberg in 
London, who had already communicated on the 
business with general Oglethorpe, then governor 
of Georgia. He accompanied them into Ame- 
rica, where he laboured for some years among 
the different colonies and missions of that coun- 
try. These colonists arrived in the spring of 
1735, and were reinforced in the summer by a 
considerable number, under the conduct of 
David Nitschmann. 

, In the same vessel sailed John Wesley, the 
head of the methodist church, with two of his 
fellow labourers, his brother Charles, and Ben- 
jamin Ingham, all destined for the same country. 
This meeting afterwards became the occasion of 



.324 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 

a close union between the brethren and a great 
number of awakened souls in England. 

On their arrival at their destination, they 
built themselves huts in the town of Savannah, 
and, at a league's distance, established a school, 
to which the king of the Indians and the natives 
of the country often came, to hear, as they 
called it, " the great word." At first the colony 
prospered, under the blessing of God, both in 
things temporal and spiritual ; but, in 1739, 
a war breaking out between the English and 
their neighbours, the Spaniards, the brethren, ■ 
not being willing to take up arms, were obliged 
to leave all their property, and retire into Penn- 
sylvania, where they afterwards founded the 
colonies of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and some 
others. 

A.D. 1735. Soon after the departure of the 
first colonists to Georgia, the brethren were gra- 
tified with the return of Leonard Dober. The 
church had recalled him from St. Thomas, in 
order to set him apart as general elder, which 
ceremony took place in the month of February, 
a few days after his arrival, and was distin- 
guished by remarkable solemnity. 

This important affair being settled, the church 
proceeded to take into consideration the desir- 
ableness of obtaining regularly ordained minis- 
ters of their own, and especially the restoration 
of the episcopal order, which had become ex- 
tinct in Commenius, their last bishop. It was 
felt very desirable that the ordinances of bap- 
tism and the Lord's supper should be adminis- 
tered by members of their own body, and that 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 325 

-they should not be dependent on others in these 
respects. Hitherto they were a religious society, 
managing their own concerns, but communing 
at the Lutheran church : this measure would 
make them independent. For that reason Zin- 
zendorf at first resisted it, knowing the preju- 
dices it would excite against the brethren. But 
when the question was submitted to the lot, it 
was decided in the affirmative, and the appoint- 
ment fell upon David Nitschmann the elder, 
who had accompanied Dober to St. Thomas. 

The count had prepared the way for this by a 
correspondence with Jablonsky; Nitschmann 
had also been examined and approved by him. 
Having, therefore, obtained the consent of his. 
colleague Sitkovius of Lissa, in Poland, Jab- 
lonsky proceeded to his important duty, and 
conferred on this brother, in the presence of 
several witnesses of the Bohemian nation, the 
rank of bishop of the brethren's churches, with 
power to make visitations, to ordain pastors and 
deacons in the churches, and to discharge all the 
other functions of a bishop. 

In the month of June, David Nitschmann the 
younger departed for Petersburg, in order to 
learn the state of the pagan population on the 
frontiers of Russia, and the situation of the 
exiles of Moravia, who had retired into the 
Caucasian mountains. During this summer, 
also, a body of ten persons departed for St. 
Croix, to reinforce the colony there ; and a few 
days after another party went out to form the 
colony in Georgia. Several other expeditions, 
also, were undertaken. 

2 F 



326 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 

One of these efforts deserves particular men- 
tion. In August the church sent three bre- 
thren to Surinam, in South America, to procure 
information necessary for the establishment of 
a colony there: this arose out of the following 
circumstance. On his way to England, through 
Holland, Sp^ngenberg was obliged to procure 
translations into Dutch of some papers relating 
to the history of the brethren, and for this pur- 
pose applied to a person named Helong. The 
facts which thus came to the knowledge of this 
individual deeply interested him, and afterwards 
led to the publication of a treatise on the sub- 
ject, entitled, " The Wonders of God in the 
Dealings with his Church." This was the 
commencement of the connexion which the 
brethren afterwards maintained with Holland, 
and thus they were induced to send a colony 
to Surinam, then under the Dutch government. 
The three brethren who went out, having sent 
back encouraging accounts, were followed, in 
1736, and afterwards in 1740, by some others, 
who established a plantation on the banks of 
the Cottica, and began to form connexions with 
the negroes, the indians, and even with the 
jews established in that country. It seemed, 
however, that none of these colonies were to 
succeed at first : the meetings for mutual edifi- 
cation, which the brethren held, and to which 
a great number of their neighbours resorted, 
having excited some disturbance, they were 
obliged to give up the station, in 1745, and re- 
tire ; some of them into Pennsylvania, and others 
to Rio de Berbice, in the neighbourhood. Some 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 327 

time after they returned, and succeeded in form- 
ing an establishment. 

Towards the end of this year, the count took 
a journey into Switzerland, in pursuance of are- 
solution adopted at a meeting of the church. He 
performed this journey principally on foot, and 
alone. " This method of travelling was preferred 
by him, because it left him at liberty to pursue 
his meditations undisturbed ; and he could stop 
when he pleased, as he often did, to converse 
with passengers on the road. But it exposed 
him to many inconveniences ; ^partly owing to his 
being so absorbed in thought that external ob- 
jects were often unseen and disregarded, and 
thus dangerwas incurred ; and partly arising from 
the habit of indiscriminate and profuse generosity 
in which he indulged, and which not unfre- 
quently led him to give his last penny to a needy 
traveller. 

On this journey he experienced a remarkable 
preservation. Having stopped one day at the 
house of a count, one of his acquaintances, and 
as usual prolonged his conversation till the night 
was far advanced, he began to think of going to 
rest ; but a strange presentiment urged him to 
continue his journey. He prayed for direction, 
and feeling confirmed in his resolution, he left 
the house, but had scarcely gone out, when the 
ceiling of the room in which he would have slept 
fell down. 

A.D. 1736. For some days, at the commence- 
ment of this year, the count was closely en- 
gaged with the different inspectors, helpers, 
and elders of the church, as though he had a 



328 FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 

presentiment of the long banishment that awaited 
him. He conferred with them on a great va- 
riety of subjects, often beginning at five in the 
morning, and continuing till late at night; and 
there was not a single individual in Herrnhut 
with whom he did not hold very close conversa- 
tions. Those of the brethren and sisters, who 
were not established in grace, were placed under 
the inspection of the more advanced members. 
They conversed fully on the doctrines of the bre- 
thren, the method of teaching the different classes, 
the schools, the poor, the treatment of strangers, 
&c. On one occasion, they met in the morning 
to talk over the different subjects that came be- 
fore them, and did not break up till two the fol- 
lowing morning. These meetings continued for 
several days, with a singular blessing from on 
high. 

If, however, the blessing of God reigned within 
the church, and in his own soul, several circum- 
stances announced that the count was falling into 
discredit with the world ; and among these must 
be reckoned the unfavourable view which the 
king of Denmark had taken of his new profession. 
The count had written to his majesty, to ask 
either his positive consent to his becoming a cler- 
gyman, or his permission to send back the order 
of Dannebrag, which he had kept till this time. 
The word for that day was rather remarkable, 
" Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's 
business ?" Luke ii. 49. The king answered, 
that he could not approve of his ecclesiastical 
profession, and that he had only to return his 
order ; which the count immediately did. 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 329 

Shortly after, the count set out on a journey to 
Holland. The princess of Orange had written to 
invite him to go and see her at Lewarden, in or- 
der to converse with him on a project she had 
conceived, of founding a colony of the brethren 
near Ysselstein. Some persons of rank had also 
requested the brethren to establish missions in 
the Dutch possessions in America ; and others 
had kindly offered to furnish the mission in Green- 

I land with the provisions necessary in its present 
urgent distress. 

The count therefore visited Herrnhut on the 
15th of February, fully expecting that he should 

I be exiled before he could see his brethren again. 

I He had long perceived that he was threatened 
with something of this kind. On the 4th of 
March, he arrived at Amsterdam, where he hired 
a house for himself and two brethren, who ac- 
companied him, and established with them the 
same order that prevailed at Herrnhut. A few 
days after his arrival, he began to hold frequent 
meetings in his house, at which some preachers 
of different denominations and several magis- 
trates attended. Here he had opportunities of 
intercourse with persons of various religious opi- 
nions. His own sentiments differed in some re- 
spects from those of the Dutch protestants, and 
especially in regard to the doctrine of personal 
election, to which, as held by them, Zinzendorf 
was much opposed. This led to warm disputes, 
and gave rise to a multitude of publications 
against himself and the brethren. And as every 
one who attended his meetings was called a 
Herrnhuter, how various soever the sentiments 
2 f 2 



330 



FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 



they might hold, there was not an absurd error 
or contradiction which was not imputed to him.* 

For the projected colony, a place was, chosen 
near Ysselstein, where the brethren from the co- 
lony of Holstein established themselves, in the 
beginning of 1737, and gave it the name of Hoer- 
endyk. The principal design of this establish- 
ment was to afford an asylum to the brethren 
who could not settle securely in Holstein, and 
afterwards to furnish a resting-place to those who 
were going to set out on distant missions, till the 
time of sailing, and to afford them an opportunity 
of making preparations for their voyage. This 
last purpose was fully answered, and the colony 
subsisted until 1746, when the brethren removed 
to Zeist, in the province of Utrecht. It proved 
the means also of opening the eyes of some per- 
sons, with respect to the calumnies published 
against the brethren by their enemies. 

On the 16th of April, the count departed to 
Cassel. On his arrival he found a packet of 
letters from Herrnhut, and among them a copy 
of the king's order to him to leave the country. 
" Our Saviour," says the countess, who accom- 
panied him on this journey, " granted me grace 
to be calm, and quietly to follow him whitherso- 
ever he would lead us. We stayed there only 

* Nevertheless, much good resulted from his visit. Se- 
veral persons owed their conversion, under the blessing of 
God, to his labours; and among them was CreJlius, the ce- 
lebrated Socinian writer, who, at the age of eighty, was 
brought to renounce his error, and rejoice in the atonement 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His daughters participated in the 
same grace, and they all joined the society of the brethren, 
subsequently formed at Amsterdam. — Holmes, vol. i. p. 339. 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 331 

one hour, and the remainder of the journey my 
lord often walked, seeking the Divine direction 
on this matter." 

Continuing his route, he met David Nitsch- 
mann, who had come from Herrnhut to bring 
him the original order, and the intelligence that 
a commission was going thither, with no other 
design than the total destruction of the establish- 
ment. 

The order for his exile was absolute, and ex- 
pressed in the following terms : — " We have re- 
solved, without delay, to advise the said count 
Zinzendorf, absolutely to quit our territories from 
the date of this order," &c. "Then," said the 
count, in a transport of joy, " the moment is 
come for collecting together a church of pilgrims ; 
we must go and preach the Saviour to the world." 

Pursuing this idea, Zinzendorf collected to- 
gether such of the brethren as were under prepa- 
ration for active service in the cause of God, and 
determined to employ himself in fitting them for 
their work, by giving them suitable instructions, 
and conferring frequently with them on the state 
of the kingdom of Christ, and the best means of 
promoting its advancement. They were occa- 
sionally joined by missionaries returning from 
pagan countries, and by the brethren who had 
been sent as deputations to different parts of 
Christendom. Thus was constituted the count's 
" church of pilgrims," a kind of missionary con- 
gregation, changing its station whenever the 
count changed his residence, but strictly observ- 
ing all the regulations established at Herrn- 
hut. The special design of the institution was 



332 



FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND 



constantly kept in view : plans were formed and 
carried into effect, for the spread of the gospel 
in different parts of the world ; a very extensive 
correspondence was maintained with christians 
of various religious denominations ; and the bre- 
thren's foreign stations were supplied with many 
zealous and effective labourers. 

Zinzendorf, however, judged it right to send 
back the countess to Herrnhut, that she might be 
there during the sitting of the commission. He 
agreed with her, that she should employ all her 
fortune in the support of her household and the 
work of God around it, without sending him the 
least part, and he would endeavour to support him- 
self and his church of pilgrims. It will easily be 
conceived, that this was no small trial of his 
faith ; for according to the manner in which he 
had lived, and with all the new establishments 
which he had formed for some years past, far 
from having laid up any thing, he had contracted 
heavy debts, and his situation as a banished man 
was not much in his favour with his creditors. 
In these circumstances the providence of God 
very manifestly interposed ; a rich man in Hol- 
land, scarcely known to the count, undertook to 
discharge all his debts, receiving a moderate rate 
of interest for the sum advanced for that purpose. 
The count accepted the offer, " and thus/' says 
he, " the Lord has made my way plain, which 
was at that time altogether dark, though I myself 
never distrusted God." 

Before we proceed to give an account of the 
proceedings of the commission, we ought to make 
a few observations on the causes of the double 



COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 333 

storm which now assailed the count. The whole 
perhaps originated in the ill-will of a nobleman, 
residing near Herrnhut. It was to no purpose 
that Zinzendorf sent him a mild and submissive 
letter ; all was in vain, the man replied only by 
reproaches. Some years after, the Lord opened 
his eyes by means of a train of events, the last of 
which was a fire, which caused him great loss, 
While he was arranging some papers that had 
escaped the flames, he was much struck at meet- 
ing with Zinzendorf s letter, a re-perusal of which 
was greatly blessed to him ; from that hour he 
became the avowed friend of the brethren, and 
of every good work. 

It must however be confessed, that the chief 
thing that for a long time had prejudiced the 
minds of many against the count, was his recep- 
tion of the Moravian and Bohemian refugees. 
From whatever cause it arose, such was the state 
of things ; and the count was enabled to accept 
this exile with fortitude, and even with joy. The 
following are among his thoughts on this sub- 
ject : — " Whenever a man cherishes in himself 
the desire of living and dying in the little corner 
in which he was born, he thinks only of himself, 
and a feeling of this kind may have an influence 
over his whole life, rendering him the slave of 
his own will, and love of home, so far as to re- 
tard all his efforts in the work to which he is call- 
ed by the Saviour. There is but one thing truly 
valuable, and that is to carry with us whitherso- 
ever we are called to go, a heart happy in the 
Lord ; and the place in which we can serve him 
best, is that which ought to be our home." 



334 COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY, 1732—1736. 

Such were Zinzendorf's sentiments and feel- 
ings on this occasion. With these impressions, 
he commenced his pilgrimage, as his mode of life 
for some years, might fitly be called, 

The countess, who returned to him as soon 
as the business of the commission had closed, 
presided over the temporal affairs of his house 
with a wisdom and economy which cannot be 
sufficiently admired ; and during the whole time 
that this extraordinary manner of life was con- 
tinued, we see very small means accomplishing 
very great results. Every member of this wan- 
dering church, who had any fortune, provided for 
his own wants ; he who had nothing was sup- 
ported by the rest ; but no one, either brother 
or sister, was paid for his services. To external 
appearance, the count's house, like the houses of 
all other great noblemen, was furnished with ser- 
vants of both sexes, but these all belonged in 
some way or other to the church. The meetings 
were held as at Herrnhut, with great regularity. 
The Lord's days, festivals, communion days, and 
others, were all observed as in any other church, 
and they were incessantly occupied in confer- 
ences, correspondence, and receiving visits from 
persons of every country in the world. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



FROM THE SECOND COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, IN 
1736, TO THE END OF THE YEAR, 1739. 

A.D. 1736. The commissioners arrived at Herrn- 
hut on the 9th of May, and remained till the 18th, 
pursuing their inquiries with more rigorous exact- 
ness than before ; but the Lord so overruled it, 
that just and upright men were appointed ; and 
thus the severity of the investigation only served 
more clearly to show the honesty of the brethren. 
On this, as on the former occasion, the church did 
not deviate from any part of its order ; the elders 
and assistants, who were all examined separately, 
spoke with the utmost freedom, without fear or 
dissembling,leaving the issue of the matter wholly 
to the Lord. The commissioners were generally 
satisfied with the doctrine preached among the 
brethren ; it was only in the constitution of the 
church that they wished some alteration to be 
made ; but the brethren being sensible, that if 
they yielded any thing, there would be no end 
to concessions, and that in doing this their inde- 
pendence would be attacked, determined to con- 
cede nothing, but, offered to emigrate again rather 
than make any sacrifice of this kind. Upon this 
it was not required. 



336 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 

All the commissioners, and Loscher in parti- 
cular, the ecclesiastical superintendent of Dres- 
den, highly applauded the excellent order of the 
church at Herrnhut, acknowledged the count's 
innocence, and exhorted the brethren to abide on 
the good foundation of the doctrine which they 
had professed, and to persevere in their union 
with the Lutheran church, notwithstanding the 
defects which they perceived in it, holding forth 
the light of truth to all around them. 

This, however, was merely the opinion of the 
commissioners ; they had still to wait for the 
royal decision, which did not arrive till the end 
of fifteen months, and not before a third commis- 
sion was appointed, in the month of February, 
1737. These commissioners did not confine their 
attention to the church at Herrnhut, but were 
charged to procure information about the Bohe- 
mian refugees, from all the authorities of Upper 
Lusatia which had received them. The brethren 
being once more acquitted of all blame, received, 
on the 7th of March/ 1737, the royal decree, 
which ran thus : — " As long as the church at 
Herrnhut continues in the confession of Augs- 
burg, it may enjoy in peace the constitution and 
discipline it has hitherto maintained." 

In the month of June, Zinzendorf left Ebers- 
dorf, and went to live in the old decayed castle 
of Ronnebourg, near Hanau, where christians of 
all denominations, and even jews, repaired to 
his meetings. As the country was in a state of 
great poverty, he distributed to the children 
bread and articles of clothing, at the same time 
preaching the word to those who would hear it. 



4 



TO THE END OF 1739- 



337 



This, as we may naturally suppose, led to fresh 
persecutions. 

At this place he was again joined by the coun- 
tess, and his children, who had stayed to witness 
the departure of the commissioners, and to make 
all the necessary arrangements at Herrnhut. 
Those of the brethren who were preparing to 
form missions or colonies, also arrived with her. 

On the 17th of July, the count set off on a 
long projected journey into Livonia. While there 
he formed many valuable acquaintances, preach- 
ed in several places, and was requested by the 
authorities to found institutions in the country 
for christian education. 

In Lithuania and Esthonia he succeeded in set- 
ting on foot a subscription for supplying the 
people with the scriptures at a cheap rate. Many 
persons requested him to furnish them with tutors, 
or faithful stewards ; and several preachers ap- 
plied to him for assistants in preaching or con- 
ducting schools. A lady of distinction, who had 
formed the plan of an institution for training 
some of the peasantry of the country as school- 
masters, and instructing the young in the know- 
ledge of the gospel, was one of his most intimate 
acquaintances, and requested him to recommend 
her a chaplain and some catechists. The count 
promised to do all in his power, and immediately 
sent for five brethren for this institution, among 
whom was a pupil of the establishment at Jena. 
The student, after being very closely examined, 
was received with great commendation, and this 
Livonian institution became the means of a revi- 
val, the influence of which was felt by some thou- 
sands of people in the country. 

2 G 



338 



FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



On his return the count passed through Berlin, 
and was invited to wait upon the king of Prussia, 
who had conceived the most unfavourable opi- 
nion of him. For three days he held close con- 
versations with his majesty ; " at the end of 
which," says Zinzendorf, u the king declared, in 
rather energetic terms, before the whole court, 
that he regarded the charges brought against the 
count of disturbing the church and the state, as 
altogether calumnious ;" he added, that his plan 
of labouring in the work of God, in his charac- 
ter as a nobleman, was singular, but there was 
nothing blameworthy in it ; it was rather to be 
approved than condemned. Consistently with 
these expressions, he gave orders to his minister 
in the circle of the Upper Rhine, to protect the 
brethren's establishments in that country. At 
the same time, in order to avoid offence, and that 
the work might proceed in an orderly manner, he 
advised the count to get himself ordained to the 
episcopal office. This advice strengthened the 
inclination he had long felt, and he therefore 
wrote to Jablonsky, who had ordained Nitsch- 
mann, and to Nitschmann himself ; and the king 
directed Jablonsky to confer with the count on 
the subject. Having arranged every thing, Zin- 
zendorf requested that the principal divines among 
the Lutherans at Berlin would examine him on 
his orthodoxy, as he did not wish to enter the 
office but as an adherent to the confession of 
Augsburg. The king having agreed to this, the 
count laid all the proper documents before the 
divines, giving them six months to examine them, 
and set out for Ronneburg. When he had nearly 
reached his home, he received information, that 



TO THE END OE 1739. 



339 



his wife and his church had been driven out of 
the country, and had repaired to Frankfort, 
whither he hastened to rejoin them, and con- 
tinued to fulfil the work of an evangelist, hold- 
ing public meetings, to which a great crowd of 
hearers resorted. 

In closing the account of this year, we shall 
mention some missions which the brethren at- 
tempted about this time, with the success that 
attended them. Two brethren were sent to 
Guinea ; but this mission was productive of no 
fruit. George Schmidt, who had been imprison- 
ed for six years, on his going into Bohemia with 
Melchior Nitschmann, was sent to the Cape of 
Good Hope. He arrived in 1737, built a hut, 
and formed a plantation among the Hottentots, 
on the banks of the river Sergeant. He soon 
gained the confidence of the people, who sent 
their children to his school. In the meantime, 
until he was able to instruct them in their own 
language, he taught them to read and sing in 
dutch, and formed them to regular habits of la- 
bour. But when he thought of baptizing those 
who had received the faith, he found so many 
obstacles in the way, that he was forced to re- 
turn to Europe, in order to obtain permission. 
It seems also, that he needed some repose among 
his brethren after the labours he had undergone. 
This step, however, was disastrous to the mission. 
The Hottentots, who had been collected, re- 
mained together for several years, sighing after 
their teacher ; but when Schmidt and several 
other brethren wished to go out to them, they 
were not allowed for some time, and when at last 



340 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



they obtained permission, they found their 
people all scattered. It is only within these 
few years that their mission has been resumed 
with success. 

Towards the end of this year, the count pre- 
pared for a journey to England, which he had 
for a long time contemplated. Before he set 
out he assembled a synod of the brethren, from 
Herrnhut and other places, who were then with 
him. This first synod of the renewed church 
of the brethren was held on the 10th, 11th, and 
12th of December, 1736, in the castle of Marien- 
born, about eight leagues from Frankfort, which 
his cousin, the count of Yssenbourgmerholz had 
lent him for the occasion. Immediately after it 
broke up, the count departed for England. 

A.D. 1737. On the 20th of January, this year, 
the count reached London, where he immediately 
had a conference, on the subject of the epis- 
copacy of the brethren, with Dr. John Potter, 
who had just been nominated archbishop of Can- 
terbury. The trustees of Georgia having request- 
ed some missionaries for the negroes of South 
Carolina, also applied to the archbishop, when he 
recommended the brethren, and stated, that they 
belonged to an orthodox and episcopal church, 
whosedoctrine containednothingthatwas opposed 
to the thirty-nine articles of the church of England . 

The count, therefore, began to take the ne- 
cessary measures for the establishment of this 
mission ; and, at the commencement of the fol- 
lowing year, sent for a person, of the name of 
Boehler, from the university of Jena, who 
was appointed to the double office of form- 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



341 



ing, in concert with another brother, the mission 
to South Carolina, and officiating as a preacher 
to the colony of Georgia. This mission, how- 
ever, very soon met with difficulties, which 
obliged the brethren to direct their attention 
solely to some Swiss, who had settled in the 
town of Purisbourg. 

The abpve-mentioned were not the only ob- 
jects which engaged Zinzendorf 's attention dur- 
ing his residence in England. He formed an 
acquaintance with a great number of the nobi- 
lity and clergy, and entered into friendly rela- 
tions with the quakers and methodists, which 
was maintained for several years. He also held 
meetings, which were attended by a great num- 
ber of pious people ; and some of the German 
brethren requested him, on his departure, to set 
them in order, that they might be able to con- 
tinue their meetings. 

On his return, Zinzendorf passed through 
Holland, where he met with Christian Stach, who 
was returning to Greenland, having been sent to 
Germany as a deputation from the mission in 
that country. After spending a short time in 
Frankfort, he set out for Berlin, in order to be 
examined, as he had proposed; and, on the 7th of 
May, received episcopal ordination from the hands 
of Jablonsky and David Nitschmann. About 
this time his father-in-law obtained permission, 
from the king of Poland, for him to return to 
Herrnhut; he therefore repaired thither on the 
30th of June, and soon after received a decree 
granting legal protection to that establishment. 

Not long after, however, the count was again 
2«2 



342 



FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



required to subscribe certain conditions, with 
which he could not comply ; he therefore left 
Herrnhut. He departed on the 4th of December, 
after addressing an affectionate discourse to the 
church. His departure was looked upon as an 
act of contumacy ; and, on the 13th of April 
following, an order was received at Herrnhut, 
forbidding" him ever to return into the country. 

A.D. 1738. Zinzendorf at first went into Wet- 
teravia, whence he despatched some brethren 
to England and America. He afterwards re- 
paired to Berlin, where he formed his household, 
as before, upon the model of a church of the 
brethren. He held public meetings four times 
in the week, twice for the men, and twice for 
the women : the number of hearers was so great, 
that they were obliged to stand for want of 
room: citizens and military, clergy and courtiers 
were mixed without any distinction, except a few 
persons of the highest rank, or of very delicate 
health, who were accommodated in an adjoining 
apartment. In this way he preached sixty dis- 
courses on some articles of Luther's catechism, 
on the Lord's prayer, and several texts of scrip- 
ture, which were some time after printed, and 
have since been translated into different lan- 
guages. 

From Berlin he returned into Wetteravia, 
where he occupied part of the castle of Marien- 
born, and founded a colony of brethren in that 
neighbourhood, which was called Hemihaag. 
This settlement was to the reformed, what Herrn- 
hut was to the Lutherans. The brethren chose 
rather to form establishments of this kind in 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



343 



isolated situations, that they might not too much 
excite the attention of the surrounding inhabi- 
tants, or produce any disturbance by the noveltv 
of their forms of worship. This settlement of 
Herrnhaag, which only began in 1740, in a few 
years exceeded in numbers the church of Herrn- 
hut. In the course of this year the celebrated John 
Wesley, accompanied by his colleague Ingham, 
paid a visit to the churches of Herrrihut, Hoer- 
endyk, and Marienborn, of which he speaks 
in high terms of approbation in some of his pub- 
lications. 

The most important event of this year was the 
count's setting out on a visit to the missions in 
the West Indies. He first repaired to Holland, 
where he arrived about the end of October, and 
although he had hoped to sail immediately, and 
the vessel was ready, some circumstances obliged 
him to stay till the 21st of December. 

While he was thus detained, the divines at 
Amsterdam published a " Pastoral Letter/' con- 
taining a violent attack on his religious opinions, 
and those of the church at Herrnhut. It was 
true that his theology was somewhat different 
from theirs, particularly on the subject of elec- 
tion, on which point he mainly agreed with 
Baxter ; and it is not improbable that the fer- 
vour of his imagination sometimes betrayed him 
into expressions which should not be too literally 
interpreted. But the pastoral letter was alto- 
gether unfair and unjust; the real opinions of 
the brethren were misrepresented or caricatured, 
and invective supplied the place of argument. 
Several of the magistrates were so indignant at 



344 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



the proceeding, that they would have prevented 
the publication ; and some of the ministers pro- 
tested against it. It was however published, 
and did much mischief. The ship was about to 
sail, when Zinzendorf received the letter, and he 
only had time to issue a brief " declaration/' 
complaining of the iniquity of the measure. 

Among the labours in which he was employed, 
while detained in Holland, may be mentioned 
the preparation of a book of texts for the en- 
suing year, which is worthy of notice on account 
of its preface. 

The book of texts for 1739, is dedicated to all 
the churches of the brethren and their different 
missions. These are enumerated in the preface, 
and we shall give a sketch of them, in order to 
furnish a just idea of the extended labours of 
the brethren at this period. 

1. Herrnhut. 2. Herrnhaag. 3. Hoerendyk. 
4. Pilgerruh. 5. Ebersdorf. Here, about the 
end of the preceding century, was founded one 
of those little societies, which, though still united 
to the national church, held its own meetings for 
edification and discipline. This society gradu- 
ally became more united to the brethren, re- 
ceived some of its ministers from them, and at 
length was numbered among their settlements. 
6. Jena. The young count, Zinzendorf J s son, 
was studying here at this period, and not only 
had a church in his own house, but held a meet- 
ing, at which many of the students and other 
pious persons attended. 7. Amsterdam, and, 
8. Rotterdam. There were some brethren in 
both these cities, in the service of a number of 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



345 



persons, who looked up to them as their spiritual 
guides. 9- London. 10. Oxford. 11. Berlin. 
12. Greenland. 13. St. Croix. 14. St. Thomas. 
15. St. John. Some slaves, who had been con- 
verted at St. Thomas's, were sold into this 
island, and afterwards visited by the mission- 
aries from St. Thomas. 16. Berbice. 17. In 
Palestine and the surrounding countries an at- 
tempt was made about this time to establish a 
settlement. 18. Surinam. 19. Savannah, in 
Georgia. 20. Among the negroes in Carolina. 

21. Among the savages of Irene, in the territory 
of the Creeks in Georgia, the brethren had a 
colony, very near the colony of Savannah. 

22. Pennsylvania. In this province Spangen- 
berg, who resided several years in America, la- 
boured with great activity. 23. Cape of Good 
Hope. 24. Livonia and Ethonia. 26. Lithuania. 
27. Russia. There were a few brethren stationed 
at Petersburg. 28. On the coasts of the White 
Sea. 29. Lapland. 30. Norway. There were 
here, as well as in Russia and other places, a 
few brethren, who supported themselves by the 
labour of their own hands, and were employed 
by the pastors of the country in visiting awakened 
souls in their parishes. 31. In 1729, Christian 
David visited Switzerland; and Baron F. de 
Watteville, of Berne, one of Zinzendorf 's prin- 
cipal coadjutors, kept up a correspondence with 
several of his relations and acquaintances in 
that country. Among these may be reckoned 
Samuel Lutz, the truly christian pastor of 
Yverdun. 

We have already mentioned that a mission to 



346 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 

the island of Ceylon was at this time in agita- 
tion ; and while the count was setting out for 
America, David Nitschmann, jun. in company 
with a physician, departed for this island. Ceylon 
was then subject to Holland, and the Dutch East 
India Company not only gave their consent to 
the mission, but also granted the two mission- 
aries a free passage. They had a very distress- 
ing voyage ; a contagious disorder broke out in 
the vessel ; and, a short time before their arrival, 
Nitschmann wrote in the following terms : — • 
" We have just thrown another person over- 
board, making eighty-one since we set out." 
The surgeon of the vessel fell a victim to the 
disorder, and Nitschmann's companion was 
obliged to take his place. The two brethren, 
however, arrived safely at the Cape, where they 
found Schmidt labouring with great activity 
among his Hottentots. After some delay, occa- 
sioned by the suspicions, which the pastoral 
letter had excited against them, they proceeded 
to Ceylon, where they arrived about the end of 
the year, and were at first received in a very 
friendly manner. But the letter having followed 
close after them, they were soon looked upon as 
little better than atheists. They found little 
difficulty in undeceiving the authorities on the 
subject, but it was utterly impossible to satisfy 
the people, and a new governor going out, pro- 
cured an order requiring their return to Europe. 

In the month of December, this year, Zinzen- 
dorf lost another of his children, an interesting 
little girl, five years of age, who, like the others, 
died in the faith. Like them, she delighted in 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



347 



praying, singing hymns, and conversing with the 
brethren ; and, as she drew near her end, spoke 
of death with the utmost composure. 

A.D. 1739. The count arrived safely, on the 
28th of January, at St. Eustatius, having the 
wind in his favour the whole of the voyage from 
the Texel. He immediately went to St. Thomas, 
when the first news he received on landing was, 
that the missionaries had been three months in 
prison. " And what," said he to one of the ne- 
groes, " have the negroes been doing all this 
time?" u They are standing fast in the faith; 
and there has been a great awakening among 
them. The imprisonment of the brethren also 
preaches powerfully." On the count's interpo- 
sition they were released. 

" The very day on which I arrived," says 
Zinzendorf, writing to his brethren in Europe, 
" our brethren, who were quite ignorant of my 
coming, had entreated the Lord to send me 
among them, feeling that they stood in need of 
my assistance. Coincidences of this kind are 
not surprising amongst us ; we are pretty well 
used to them." 

The count immediately applied himself to the 
work of the Lord, and on this subject he relates 
the following incident : — 

" Three days after my arrival, brother Martin 
being ill, and the duty of holding the meeting 
devolving on me, I was most agreeably surprised 
and delighted, when, after an excellent prayer 
by one of the negroes, as I was about to begin 
with one of my favourite hymns, I suddenly 
heard all the negroes (more numerous than any 



348 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



meeting I had ever held in our churches) accom- 
panying me aloud in their own tongue, many of 
them with tears, singing the following hymn : — 

My Lord, my Lord, who hast redeemed me," &c. 

The number of the negroes, seriously concerned 
for their salvation, amounted at that time to 900 ; 
650 men, and 250 women. These were instructed 
separately, the brethren, as we have before ob- 
served, taking the greatest care in all their meet- 
ings to keep the sexes distinct. The poor slaves 
did their utmost to come to the brethren every 
evening, however few in number ; but their prin- 
cipal meeting usually began on Saturday night, 
and did not close till seven or eight o'clock the 
next morning. The progress of the gospel 
among them was the more remarkable, as they 
and the missionaries were equally exposed to 
persecution for the sake of the truth. Often did 
their cruel masters rush into the midst of them, 
when assembled together, beat the poor crea- 
tures most dreadfully, and disperse them with 
horrible blasphemies. Then, indeed, was the 
time for them to remember the words of the 
holy scriptures, i ' Here is the patience and faith 
of the saints. " 

This opposition to the brethren partly arose 
from the depraved conduct of the Europeans, 
who found their base passions thwarted by the 
conversion of their slaves ; and partly from the 
jealousy of the clergy, who would not suffer the 
brethren to administer the ordinance of baptism. 
These things led to the imprisonment of the 
missionaries, which, had it continued, would 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



349 



have ruined their health and brought them 
speedily to the grave. The count having ob- 
tained their release, wrote to the government at 
Copenhagen, and an order was sent out to the 
authorities of the island to protect the brethren 
against all their enemies, civil or ecclesiastical. 

This interposition in the brethren's favour, 
however, was but a partial measure : it did not 
go to the root of the evil. The planters not 
being able to annoy them, harassed their slaves 
the more : they required them to hold their 
meetings by day, while they compelled the ne- 
groes to labour till late at night : they even 
went to the meetings with sticks, and swords, 
and guns, to break them up, the negroes not 
daring to make the least resistance. The count, 
therefore, proposed to hasten his return to Eu- 
rope, in order to intercede for them with the 
court. Before his departure, however, the 650 
negroes who attended the meetings united in 
addressing a petition to the king of Denmark, 
which they all signed, praying for deliverance 
from the vexations to which they were exposed. 
The females also addressed the queen in similar 
terms. 

The count wished to visit the islands of St. 
John and St. Croix, but he could only reach 
the latter place, where he beheld with mingled 
solemnity and thanksgiving the tombs of the 
brethren and sisters who had died there. He 
stayed five weeks, and then left the West Indies, 
and returned to Europe. On his voyage he com- 
posed, among other things, the original of that 
hymn so well known in Germany, and other places, 
2 H 



350 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 



1 



u Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress," &c. 

He found that a great revival had taken place 
among the brethren in England. Considerable 
excitement had been produced in Holland, by 
the pastoral letter on the one side, and by the 
protest of four of the ministers on the other, and 
great bitterness prevailed among them ; but the 
brethren enjoyed profound peace, and abundant 
prosperity. The count published another " de- 
claration" against the calumnious accusations 
of this letter. 

The constant labours in which Zinzendorf was 
engaged, and the fatigues endured on his voyage 
to and from the West Indies, so much affected 
his constitution, that he was at last confined to 
his bed, and began to think that the Lord was 
about to call him to himself ; but he was mer- 
cifully restored. During this illness, though he 
was very weak, he composed an answer to the 
pamphlets published against him while he was 
on his voyage to St. Thomas. It was entitled, 
" A Review of the late Publications, " &c. A 
report had spread on all sides that he had died 
on the voyage, and upon this several persons, 
whom he had considered as his friends, had taken 
part with his enemies. He closes this work with 
these lines : 

" Ne'er shall my heart its memory lose 
Of Jesus' dying love," &c. 

Thus showing how great a measure of Divine 
unction rested on his soul, amidst disputations 
that are often very dangerous to piety. 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



351 



The labours of the count in the church were 
much devoted at this time to the bands of single 
brethren and sisters ; the younger brethren, in 
particular, he regarded as a nursery of witnesses 
and soldiers of Christ. For these two classes of 
christians he composed a great number of hymns. 
About this time, also, the brethren established a 
seminary at Herrnhaag, from which afterwards 
their church, as well as many other protestant 
churches, were supplied with faithful ministers. 

It was at this period that the rich merchant 
of Stralsund, with whom Zinzendorf had lived 
as tutor to his children, and who had since 
taken up his residence at Herrnhut, departed for 
Algiers, to preach the gospel to the slaves ; and 
some delightful fruits of his labours soon ap- 
peared. 

We have already mentioned the success with 
which the Lord crowned the efforts of the bre- 
thren in the West Indies ; in Georgia and South 
Carolina the cause was in its infancy ; the bre- 
thren had some good hopes about Surinam and 
Berbice, and had been for some time making 
preparations for a mission to the interior of South 
America. Intelligence had reached them of the 
miserable state of the savages in that extensive 
country, accompanied with an invitation to go 
over and help them. One of the brethren ac- 
cordingly set off for this destination early in the 
year, and arrived the following summer at New 
York. He knew no one in that city; but he 
soon found an opportunity of preaching the gos- 
pel to two indians of the Mahikander nation. 
At their invitation he repaired to Albany, about 



352 FROM THE INQUIRY, IN 1736, 

sixty or seventy leagues from New York, in order 
to become their preacher. Not finding himself 
comfortable there, he went over to Chekomekah, 
an indian town on the frontiers of New England. 
The indians, given up to drunkenness, received 
him at first with the most dreadful menaces ; he 
did not, however, suffer himself to be terrified, 
and although his life was scarcely a moment 
safe, he had soon the happiness to bring some of 
the savages over to better feelings. In 1741, he 
had gathered round him a numerous auditory, 
and the next year was enabled to baptize three 
of the indians, as the first-fruits of the nation. 

Towards the end of this year, the count, ac- 
companied by baron Frederic de Watteville, 
took a journey into Switzerland. " We most 
frequently," says Watteville, " travelled on foot, 
and always enjoyed a feeling of great nearness 
to the Saviour." 

During this year the count published a very in- 
teresting work, entitled, " Jeremiah, a Preacher 
of Righteousness." It was composed on his 
passage to the West Indies, is addressed par- 
ticularly to ministers, and has been the means 
of doing much good. 

We shall close this book with some observa- 
tions made by Zinzendorf, about this time, in 
writing to one of his friends. " One of my fa- 
vourite plans," says he, " is to contribute, as 
much as lies in my power, to the accomplishment 
of the grand design of our Lord, (John xvii.) the 
gathering together of the children of God . I do 
not wish to join them in the bond of the Mora- 
vians, but in that general communion, in which 



TO THE END OF 1739. 



353 



the Moravian sect must be at length lost, and 
this distinction become quite unnecessary for the 
particular work which is now assigned to them. 
I still labour as much as possible to bring souls 
to confess their sins, and receive the grace of the 
Saviour ; for this purpose I love pulpits, and 9 
would gladly travel a hundred leagues to preach 
in one; in fine, from the year 1727 to the pre- 
sent moment, I have incessantly endeavoured to 
unite all the children of God, even those who do 
not reside in the same place. This latter plan, 
however, I am beginning to abandon, not only 
because I see no means of accomplishing it, but 
because I think I discover, in the opposite state 
of things, a secret working of Divine Provi- 
dence.' ' 



2 H 2 



CHAPTER XVII. 



GENERAL HISTORY, A. D. 1740 AND 1741, 

A. D. 1740. In the month of June, this year, the 
brethren held a synod at Gotha, on account of 
the approaching departure, for South America, of 
bishop Nitschmann, and the female elder, Anne 
Nitschmann. At this synod Zinzendorf, having 
mentioned the reproaches which were cast upon 
him, and the unfavourable impressions existing 
in the minds of some divines and statesmen, on 
account of his uniting in his own person the 
titles of count and Moravian bishop, begged to 
be discharged from the episcopal functions, and 
that some one might take his place. The synod 
represented to him, that as long as the brethren's 
church sought only to please the Lord Jesus 
Christ, the count would not fail to incur the 
hatred of the world : but as he continued to 
press the matter, though they would not accept 
his resignation, they elected another person to 
the office of bishop, the Rev. Polycarpe Miiller, 
a Lutheran divine, who had formerly filled a 
professor's chair in the university of Leipsic. 

On reviewing the innumerable calumnies cast 
upon the church for some years past, the synod 
also felt that it was the duty of the brethren to 
examine carefully whether they might not have 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741- 



355 



furnished their enemies with some occasion to 
reproach them. This led to a conversation, in 
which was manifested an unusual degree of 
christian frankness. The count commenced with 
an acknowledgment of the faults which he had 
committed; other brethren did the same; and 
the brethren having confessed that they had been 
guilty of great injustice to professor Francke, of 
Halle, the synod directed a written apology to 
be prepared, and deputed two of their number 
to go and present it. The following is a copy : 
" Whereas the church of Christ descended 
from the brethren of Moravia, and now assem- 
bled in conference, at Gotha, to deliberate on 
several important subjects, has seen reason to 
acknowledge that its members have not always 
been sufficiently careful to avoid every appear- 
ance of hostility to the laudable institutions of 
Mr. Francke ; and whereas it is not enough that 
count Zinzendorf should have, several years 
since, personally acknowledged his error in 
this matter, since he ought to have dealt more 
severely with brother Spangenberg, respecting 
the differences between him and the authorities 
at Halle ; and whereas it is thought that the 
count ought to have conducted himself with 
more humility as a disciple of that eminent ser- 
vant of God, Augustus Hermann Francke, and 
the church has cause to bewail with him the 
wrongs which he formerly committed, his negli- 
gence since that time, and his recent faults: the 
whole synod, therefore, consisting of the elder 
and bishops of the Moravian brethren of the 
confession of Augsburg, has unanimously re- 



356 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



solved to request the Rev. Leonard Dober, ge- 
neral elder of all the churches, and his colleague, 
Polycarpe Muller, to wait personally on the 
worthy Mr. G. A. Francke, divinity professor at 
Halle, and director of the establishments of his 
late father, not only to repeat the apologies 
already made by the count, in 1735, but also 
humbly to present those of the whole Moravian 
evangelical church, as far as it can partake in 
the faults of its individual members, promising 
to preserve in future that respect for the insti- 
tutions at Halle, which, on many accounts, they 
so much deserve, and zealously and faithfully to 
repair all former injuries as much as possible, 
and in every way to strengthen the sacred bond 
of brotherly love with the said respected pro- 
fessor. 

" Given at Gotha, 13th of June, 1740, in the 
name of the church. 

6 ' David Nitschmann, bishop. 

" LOUIS DE ZlNZENDORF, bishoj). 

" John Martin Dober, president of 

Herrnhut. 
" John Michael Langgouth, pastor 

of Hernhaag. 
" JoHNPETERTiiiELE,e/der0///oereft- 

dyk. 

" John Gottfried Bezold, president 
of Pilgerruh." 
Although this address was very remarkable 
for the humility of its strain, it was not well re- 
ceived. Perhaps it was judged to be too long in 
coming, or perhaps Francke thought some pre- 
paratory actions should have taken the place of 



general history, 1740, 1741. 357 



mere words ; however this might be, when the 
two deputies arrived at Halle, they were not even 
admitted to an audience, and in that state the 
matter rested. 

About this time the church was much increased, 
even through the reproaches which were heaped 
upon it. In the publications of the day, in the 
pulpits, and in the colleges, things were attri- 
buted to the brethren, so atrocious, and, at the 
same time, so absurd, that many persons deemed 
them perfectly incredible, and determined to in- 
quire more particularly into the matter. Mul- 
titudes, therefore, of all ranks, rich and poor, 
learned and ignorant, attended the meetings of 
the church, and when they perceived the actual 
state of things, warmly espoused the brethren's 
cause. Many visitors arrived from England, 
Norway, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Li- 
vonia, and many places in Germany, among 
whom a wonderful work of the Holy Spirit was 
soon manifested, both in the public meetings 
and private conversations. 

" In the course of this year,'* says Spangen- 
berg, "the count was like a perpetual spring, con- 
stantly pouring out hymns and spiritual songs." 
At one of those prayer-meetings, so commonly 
held in the early times of the brethren, for the 
purpose of invoking the Divine blessing upon 
each other, he recited a most delightful hymn in 
the assembly. On the 13th of August, an extra- 
ordinary day in the church, he preached a very 
powerful discourse, and composed, extemporane- 
ously on the occasion, six hymns, in which he 
commended to the Lamb of God, all the churches 



358 GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741 . 



of the brethren, particularly the missionary esta- 
blishments in different parts of the world, and all 
the brethren who were journeying either by land 
or by sea. 

As the visits of strangers became every day 
more frequent, the count thought proper to fix 
an hour to receive and converse with them. On 
these occasions, all the information they desir- 
ed was granted to them, and they were per- 
mitted to state their difficulties and scruples, 
which were answered by a faithful explanation of 
every thing. 

On the 10th of December, some additions were 
made to the church, that strikingly showed the 
power of the Holy Spirit, in gathering together 
persons of every tongue, and tribe, and nation. 
Several brethren were received, one of whom was 
a native of Poland, another of Hungary, a third 
of Switzerland, the fourth an Englishman, the 
fifth a Swede, the sixth a Livonian, and the 
seventh a German. 

As the calumnies vented against the brethren's 
church did not cease, and as violent complaints 
had been made against the church of Hernhaag 
before the court of justice at Wetzlar, the count, 
who was very ill at that time, caused himself to 
be conveyed to that city, that he might procure 
from the court, a thorough investigation of the 
brethren's cause. For that purpose he invited 
the attention of the magistrate, both to himself 
and the brethren, that he might notice anything 
that was really blameworthy. He was told, 
however, that the court would by no means con- 
sent to enter into this investigation ; that the 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



359 



accusations brought against the count were well 
known, but were not judged worthy of notice; 
that the dispute would cease of itself, if the bre- 
thren would but observe a strict silence on the 
subject; and that it would be well for them to 
labour the more carefully to publish nothing but 
simply their evangelical sentiments and prin- 
ciples. 

One of the members of this tribunal added 
some further observations, which we cannot for- 
bear transcribing. " The person and doctrine of 
Jesus were far more calumniated than the church 
of the brethren has been ; but the Saviour com- 
forted himself with the thought, that his Father 
acknowledged him. The brethren's church there- 
fore ought to submit to the judgments of the 
world, and to be willing to be persecuted with 
Jesus. " 

" Doubtless," he adds, " it is painful not to 
have a moment's rest, and to be always the ob- 
ject of reproach ; but sufferings and the cross 
belong as essentially to your excellent church, as 
the wounds, and blood, and death of your Lord. 
These are the elements in which it lives, and by 
which it must be purified more and more, as it 
were by fire. As to the danger you apprehend, 
that in time the boldness of your enemies may be 
attended with fatal effects, 1 hope that 1 shall 
never see it ; and I leave this as well as many 
other subjects of anxiety, which are not desti- 
tute of foundation, to my successors, to whom I 
can give no other advice, than to submit patiently 
to whatever may happen, or to beseech the Lord 
to be preserved from the trial. Moreover, our 



360 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



God ever liveth, and your cause is His own ; he 
will plead it, and will suffer nothing to come to 
pass but what is agreeable to his own will, which 
is always perfect and good. What you suffer, 
you surfer together with the church, for the love 
of God and of Jesus ; and surely this is happy suf- 
fering, from which one should hardly pray to be 
delivered. Go on, with your fellow-labourers, to 
preach the gospel simply, according to the mea- 
sure of knowledge which God has bestowed upon 
you, and he will support you. O sacred suffer- 
ings ! O glorious conflict! O blessed triumph !" 

Another synod was held at Marienborn, from 
the 5th to the 3 1st of December, of which the count 
has said that there never was such a one, either 
before or since. It was opened by himself with 
an extemporaneous hymn. One of the principal 
subjects treated in this synod was doctrine, and 
the following declarations were unanimously 
adopted : — 

"The holy scriptures are the great standard 
by which in all cases we should abide ; we ought 
not to put our own productions, however good, 
in comparison with the Bible, or pretend in any 
way to add to it by our writings, 

"The holy scriptures, of the Old and New 
Testament, are works so absolutely Divine, that 
every doctrine, sentence, and prophecy of future 
events, and every thing relating to theology, is 
fully and completely contained in them, whether 
for the salvation of private individuals, or for the 
use of those who have to bear witness to the truth. 
So complete are they, that, until the second com- 
ing of Christ, nothing further is necessary; nor is 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



361 



it possible to produce any thing that shall exceed 
them." 

As calumnies and insults of the most dreadful 
kind continued to be heaped upon the count, in 
one of his publications, on " The Forgiveness of 
Offences," he speaks in a way that to some may 
appear affected ; but Zinzendorf was altogether 
an original character, and not to be judged by 
common rules. 

>< I look up to every man," says he, " who un- 
dertakes to instruct me, as my superior, until I 
find that he brings me nothing better, or more 
novel than what I already know. Should he even 
become my enemy, I regard him still, as long as I 
can, as my faithful friend, or rather as so gene- 
rous a friend of the public, that he is obliged to 
sacrifice to it his friendship for me, and that, in 
my view, is being the friend of the community. 

" I consider too, that the common duties of 
man to man are not, comparatively, of the chief 
importance ; but I belong to a family in which 
we are bound to act towards the ungrateful and 
wicked, with kindness like that which I have ex- 
perienced from my God ; thus the person of my 
enemy becomes sacred and inviolable. These 
are not speculative principles with me ; many of 
the faithful witnesses to the truth who are near 
me, and of whose cause I have never lost sight for 
thirty years, know that 1 practise them. But if 
they do not know it, there is One who does." 

The count was accustomed to read to the 
church those publications of his opponents which 
attacked him personally. " When an author," 
says he, " sends me his work, which often 
2 i 



362 GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



happens, I do him the justice to read it to the 
church, when there is the greatest number of 
strangers present, taking- all necessary care not 
to spoil the reading. When I have done this, I 
make no reply, but show the book to any person 
who wishes to see it. If there is any truth in the 
accusations, this reading has a double advantage : 
it serves to diminish the excessive estimation in 
which the church holds me, and it furnishes me 
with an opportunity of acknowledging my faults, 
and warning my brethren by my example." 

A. D. 1741. At the beginning of this year, 
the count made preparations for his long-pro- 
posed journey to Geneva. It was natural that, 
with his capacious mind, and earnest desire to 
establish connexions with every body of chris- 
tians, he should be anxious to attempt something 
in this city, then one of the most important sta- 
tions of the reformed church. He arrived in 
Geneva at the beginning of March, accompani- 
ed by the countess and his family, and a number 
of the brethren, amounting to forty or fifty 
persons, who were lodged in several houses in 
the neighbourhood of his own residence. To- 
gether they formed a little church regularly or- 
ganized ; every band had its separate worship in 
the morning ; after which the whole church com- 
monly assembled to hear a discourse from the 
count ; at eight in the evening, they held their 
singing meeting, followed by an exposition on 
some part of the scriptures, by one of the learned 
brethren, at which a few persons attended ; and 
the day closed with a meeting of those brethren 
and sisters, to whom were allotted the different 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



363 



hours, from four in the morning till midnight, 
devoted to meditation and prayer. At the same 
time, the others, who did not belong to this band, 
held their evening worship. The interval, from 
midnight to four in the morning, was spent in 
prayer by one of the brethren in turn. 

The peculiar customs of this little church soon 
drew multitudes of visitors, and an evident bless- 
ing attended their meetings. The church of 
Geneva had already in some measure departed 
from the faith, and the brethren therefore avail- 
ed themselves of every opportunity of preaching 
the Lord Jesus, as the Lamb of God that taketh 
away the sin of the world. Among others, baron 
de Gersdorf, who had been recently converted, 
bore a powerful testimony to the grace of God in 
Christ Jesus, and such was the impression pro- 
duced by the word among persons of all ranks, 
that there was scarcely an hour of the day with- 
out some meeting for the preaching of the gospel. 

The count soon became acquainted with a num- 
ber of learned men ; but it is easy to perceive, 
notwithstanding the caution which the brethren 
always use in expressing their views on this sub- 
ject, that they found the city in that state of un- 
belief to which we have already alluded, and 
which a few years afterwards was publicly avow- 
ed to the world by the well-known article in the 
Encyclopedic. 

Zinzendorf was not, however, ashamed of the 
gospel of Christ, and although he entrenched 
himself here, as he did in other places, too much 
under those formalities which weaken its effect, 
and even manifested a kind of politeness towards 
the enemies of Christ, of which the ancient saints 



364 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



give us no examples, yet in the end he candidly 
avowed the truth. Nor did he content himself 
with preaching it ; he also published a memorial 
of a hundred and eighty pages, a copy of which is 
still to be found in the library of that city, en- 
titled " A Letter to the Venerable Company of 
Pastors and Professors of the Church of Geneva, 
on the subject of the Church of the United Bre- 
thren." It is a very interesting work, in the high- 
est degree original, and although very short, 
considering the extensive nature of the subject, 
yet it contains many valuable and surprising ac- 
counts relative to the brethren's church, both 
ancient and modern. This pamphlet was pre- 
sented to the pastors and professors, in the name 
of the church, by three of its ministers; and not- 
withstanding it might, from its singularity, have 
been likely more than almost any other evan 
gelical work, to be an object of contempt to the 
socinians, yet it was received with great respect, 
on account of the high rank of its author. A 
deputation was sent, with the moderator at its 
head, to convey their thanks to the count, ad- 
dressed to him in his character of bishop of the 
United Brethren. 

During his residence at Geneva, he also re- 
printed in French, a book of texts, which he had 
published the year before, entitled, " The Lamb 
of God represented to the life in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, preached to the brethren in the 40th and 
41st year of the eighteenth century, and now 
presented to the church of Geneva." This little 
book contained a selection of texts from the Old 
and New Testaments, tending to establish the 
Deity and glory of the Redeemer. It was dedi- 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 



365 



cated to M. Vermet, the principal of the univer- 
sity, and M. Lullin, professor of ecclesiastical 
history. For once, all regard to worldly polite- 
ness yielded to the enmity of the human heart 
to the gospel; and those who professed to believe 
in the Divine Son of God, could not be prevailed 
upon to receive this testimony to his divinity. 
The dedication met with an ungracious reception 
from the two pastors, as appears from some of 
their published papers, and Zinzendorf soon 
found it necessary to leave Geneva. 

The week before his departure, he collected 
into classes, similar to those which existed among 
the brethren, a number of persons who had been 
awakened during his stay at Geneva, and gave 
them some directions as to the manner in which 
they should conduct their meetings for mutual 
edification. On the 16th of May he left the 
city, with his family, accompanied by a mob of 
people, who assailed him with stones. Ten years 
afterwards, a brother at Geneva wrote to the 
count, that this shower of stones had spoken to 
the consciences of some persons, who, since that 
time, had sought acquaintance with the brethren. 

As the count was disposed, this year, again to 
visit South America, he summoned a new synod, 
in which he announced, as he had done in that 
of Gotha, his wish to lay down his office of 
bishop. It w T as not his intention absolutely to 
divest himself of all the duties attached to his 
charge, for he had never ceased to attend to 
several of them, such as preaching, the adminis- 
tration of the Lord's supper and baptism, the 
ordination of deacons, ministers, and bishops, &c, 
2 i 2 



366 GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741 . 




but as Lis own inclination, and, in his judgment, 
the call of God urged him more and more to the 
work of an evangelist, and as he was desirous of 
exercising this function for the good of all com- 
munions, he wished not to be bound too closely 
by an office, so decidedly specific as that of a 
bishop over one of the sections of the christian 
church. The synod upon this elected a new bi- 
shop in his place. 

On the 15th July, the count held a love feast, 
at which sixty persons attended, with some bre- 
thren and sisters from Herrnhut and the adja- 
cent places, who had entered into his service. 
Some of them were about to depart on different 
engagements, and the count recited a hymn suited 
to their circumstances, and another of seventy- 
four stanzas for the single brethren, exhorting 
them to devote themselves to the Lord with their 
whole heart, to go forth on his service, whenever 
and in whatever manner it should be his pleasure 
to employ them. 

On the 5th of August, Zinzendorf departed 
from Germany, on his second voyage to America. 
He arrived safely in London, where he stopped 
till the end of the month. Spangenberg, who 
had frequent communications with him at this 
time, observes that he was much engaged in 
communion with the Lord, and in self-examina- 
tion as to the whole of his former life ; that he 
was very severe in marking the faults he had 
committed in the service of the Saviour, and im- 
plored forgiveness for them with great contrition. 
These feelings were expressed in a most lively 
manner, in several of the hymns which he com- 



GENERAL HISTORY, 1740, 1741. 367 



posed at this time. He was also much occupied 
in reflecting on his past intercourse with others, 
and carefully inquiring whether he had offended 
any. To all these he wrote letters, asking their 
pardon for the faults he might have committed ; 
and, lastly, his time was much taken up in pro- 
viding for the prosperity of the churches in Eu- 
rope, during his proposed voyage. 

The count had his choice, either of going in a 
man-of-war, or in a merchant vessel under con- 
voy, and as there was a war at this time between 
England and Spain, some of his experienced 
friends advised him to take one of these courses ; 
he however preferred a merchant vessel, which 
he had hired for himself, which was unarmed, 
and would sail more swiftly. Besides this, he did 
not wish to offend the quakers and mennonites, 
whose principles were opposed to war. Writing 
to one of them at this time, he says, " I desire no 
other company than what is mentioned in that 
scripture, Rev. vii. 1 — 7. When my friends 
went to Philadelphia, last year, I did not scruple 
to procure Spanish passports for them. We may 
take some unnecessary precautions when a third 
person is concerned, I should never have done as 
much for myself ; I should consider it as aban- 
doning my ancient charter, Luke xii. 7." 

At length, after several delays occasioned by 
contrary winds, he set sail. During the voyage 
he employed his time, as usual, from morning 
till night, in different labours for the churches, 
and in composing a number of hymns. He ar- 
rived in America about the end of the month of 
November. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRN11UT IN 1740. 

We cannot leave the brethren, whom we have 
followed through so long a series of events, with- 
out endeavouring once more to exhibit, if pos- 
sible, a correct and lively picture of their state 
at the above period. For this purpose we shall, 
as before, take a rapid survey of the establish- 
ment at Herrnhut, which will always be the 
most natural representative of all the rest. 

At the time of which we speak, Herrnhut had 
become a little town. It was regularly built ; 
the streets straight and neat, and every thing 
indicated peace and good order. Most of the 
inhabitants were living in the full enjoyment of 
their spiritual privileges ; the rest were, ex- 
ternally at least, w T alking according to the rules 
of the establishment, abstaining from every thing 
manifestly contrary to a christian life. 

We may remember the watch that was kept 
during the night, and its truly christian warn- 
ings ; nor can we forget the beautiful burial 
ground, adorned with plantations of trees, pre- 
senting, as the Germans finely express it, the 
fair prospect of " the field of God," where rest 
the seeds of a future harvest of spiritual and 
glorified bodies. 

It was the custom of the brethren, probably 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740- 369 



derived from the earliest times of their church, 
in order to avoid vanity and conformity to the 
world, to adopt one uniform dress both for men 
and women, which is the same at this day. 
Some slight difference was allowed among the 
females, in the different classes of girls, adults, 
married women, widows, &c. 

This little town bore some resemblance to a 
great convent, divided into several cloisters : 
here stood the houses allotted to widowers and 
widows ; there were those appropriated to the 
single brethren and sisters, and the youth, both 
male and female ; on each side were the work- 
shops belonging to the different classes of arti- 
sans, and as the whole place had its general 
superintendent, so every building, every trade, 
every workshop and room, was under the direc- 
tion of a brother or sister, who were themselves 
subordinate to other superiors. We must not, 
also, forget the daily visits paid by the different 
members of the church to every family in its 
turn, to carry them the word of the day and the 
salutations of the brethren. 

Zinzendorf, who was never weary of holding 
meetings among the brethren for the promotion 
of their joy in the gospel, introduced the custom 
of love feasts, which were of different kinds and 
very numerous, but conducted with that so- 
briety and temperance which become the chil- 
dren of God. Besides those of the whole 
church, there were some kept by families, in 
which parents celebrated the anniversaries of 
their marriage, their birth-days or those of their 
children, or any event of that kind. There were 



370 DESCRIPTION OF HERMHUT IN 1740- 

others for the different bands, classes, and orders 
of the church, as elders, missionaries, &c. The 
count, on these occasions, often used to assemble 
round him all in whose persons and circum- 
stances some similar trait was observable, such 
as those who had been brought to the knowledge 
of the truth at the same time, who had been re- 
ceived into the church on the same day, or who 
had experienced similar spiritual trials ; and he 
never failed to enliven such meetings with a few 
couplets, and sometimes entire hymns, which he 
had composed, or which he uttered extempo- 
raneously. This taste for simple, unpretending 
poetry prevailed generally in the church, and 
every one brought, on these occasions, his little 
tribute of verses, which in a measure made up, 
by their unction and deep feeling, for every 
literary imperfection. 

If we look into the interior of this church, we 
shall have to observe the most complicated, and 
yet the most complete discipline, quite inverting 
the natural order of the different ranks, and 
making each, in his turn, superior and subor- 
dinate; watched over by others, and w 7 atching 
over others in all things. As to the active ex- 
ertion which prevailed in the church, and the 
diversity of the means used for its edification, 
we may form some slight idea from the following 
quotation, taken from Zinzendorf's Life : — 

" At this time the count could not be present 
at the morning meetings, which were held at 
four o'clock in the summer, and at five in the 
winter, because he was accustomed to work till 
midnight, and often later. In April, however, 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740- 371 



he began his family worship at six o'clock in 
the morning. He likewise held frequent con- 
ferences with the elders, teachers, inspectors, 
monitors, nurses, almoners, assistants, &c. not 
together, but every class by itself ; in order to 
impart to them clear notions of the fundamental 
principles, by which a church of Christ should 
be regulated, an^ the particular duties which 
belonged to each, according to their respective 
functions. 

" A number of single brethren having asso- 
ciated together in 1728, in a house appropriated 
to their use, entered into all the arrangements 
suitable to their situation ; and the count for 
some time gave them lessons in writing and geo- 
graphy, with some general ideas of ecclesias- 
tical history. In the discourses addressed to the 
general body of single brethren, he laboured 
very carefully to give them just views of the 
duties and graces especially necessary in their 
condition. He also addressed several homilies 
to the single sisters, particularly applicable to 
the little societies formed among them, and was 
anxious that they might be wisely organized and 
provided with faithful leaders. The countess 
sometimes assembled these around her, to con- 
verse with them upon their different duties. 

" The count likewise took a deep interest in 
those who had been recently married, showing 
them, from the scriptures, how they ought to act, 
so as to keep themselves in that purity of spirit 
which became their new situation. Nor did he 
forget the children ; and, in general, as Spangen- 
berg observes, we may remark, at this period, 



372 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740- 

an earnest desire, among young and old, for 
communion with the Lord Jesus, and the abun- 
dant participation of his grace." 

We may form a still more accurate idea of the 
state of this church, at the times we are describ- 
ing, from the following extract, from a document 
left for the use of the churches on the eve of his 
departure for America. 

" I behold with joy," says he to the brethren, 
" that in the midst of so many sects into which 
the christian church is divided, our simple 
preaching of the expiatory sufferings of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, has brought some souls into 
that unity, for which He prayed to the Father. 
It is but just that you should receive the recom- 
pense of it : reproach, and calumny, and the 
hatred of the wicked are the unfailing portion of 
Jesus and his servants. Rejoice, then, in your 
infirmities and sufferings. 

" The classes in all the churches will do well 
to communicate their affairs to those whom your 
beloved elders shall nominate for that purpose. 
There ought to be as close a connexion between 
the churches and every individual member, as 
there is between the hand and the foot ; yea, 
even between the foot and its different joints. 

" What is the education of children ? A holy 
method of teaching them, even from the cradle, 
that they belong to Jesus, and that all their 
happiness consists in knowing him. On this 
account the greatest punishment they can suffer 
should be, not to be allowed to pray and sing 
with their companions, or to go to school, or 
to study together. 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 373 

" The charges, or functions of the church, 
consist in something more than the mere distri- 
bution of labour among different individuals. 
And here we have need of some persons to fulfil 
a kind of office without name or title ; an 
office which embraces and comprehends every 
thing, and which I cannot better describe than 
by comparing it to a hinge, or the key of a 
watch, which has a connexion with every thing. 
Such Marthas as I here refer to, when they 
are animated with the spirit of Mary, know how 
to be everywhere. They manage matters in 
such a manner, at funerals, anniversaries, 
changes of business, and, in a word, on all oc- 
casions, that a single person of this description 
has, in one week, despatched a hundred different 
affairs, assisted the regular officers, and all 
without the movements being perceived. 

" The elders should be especially careful that 
no inconsistency may appear in their conduct. 
They should be a refuge and resort for all 
descriptions of persons, friends as well as foes. 
The helps should, in every thing regarding the 
church, be always ready to be employed, like 
a physician or surgeon in a town, whom every 
one calls upon in time of need. The waiting 
brethren are, for each particular part, what the 
helps are for the whole body. It is their duty 
to keep the lights, beds, benches, and every 
piece of furniture entrusted to their care, in 
complete order. 

" The inspectors ought to have their eyes and 
ears open in every direction, but their mouths 
closed ; they should have such an accurate idea 
2 K 



374 DESCRIPTION OF HERKNHUT IN 1740. 



of every thing- that falls under their inspection, 
that they may bring it to the monitors ready 
prepared, so that the latter may be merely the 
channels of communication. If they should, 
however, have a strict eye, they should also 
have a compassionate heart, and be ready to 
rejoice when the fears they have entertained 
prove to be unfounded. A monitor ought to 
have a heart that unites great faithfulness and 
equal tenderness towards Christ and his mem- 
bers ; he should ever keep in view the claims of 
the Redeemer, and the weakness of his brethren ; 
he ought to know the grand secret of gaining, 
by love, every soul that belongs to the Saviour. 

" The nurses should be able, wisely, to dis- 
tinguish maladies that are simply corporeal, 
from those that have relation to spiritual things, 
and which may be in the hands of the Lord, 
either as the chastisement of his love, a trial of 
faith, a sin unto death, melancholy, an affection 
of the nervous system, &c.^ They ought to 
know how to treat all these different cases, 
availing themselves of the assistance of the 
physician and other servants of the church. 
The almoners should so labour among their 
brethren, that beneficence and brotherly kind- 
ness may prevail in the church. 

" We should not work to live, but live to 
work ; and when we think there is nothing more 
to do, we must be in a bad and declining con- 
dition. In a church we must work ; and as a 
general providence that feeds the ravens, and is 
particularly promised to christians, is yet limited 
by those trials which come upon the witnesses 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740- 375 



for the truth, who are sometimes called to show 
themselves God's faithful servants in the midst 
of famine and nakedness, these must therefore 
depend, less than any other men, on the re- 
gular supply of their very moderate portion ; 
they were called to labour with their own 
hands, not only that they might not be charge- 
able to any one, but that they might have 
something to give to those that need. The 
means of assisting the different members of the 
church, and supplying them with work, both 
in times of scarcity, and when exposed to the 
hatred of the world, which will be but too 
ready to slander them, or in the midst of the 
frequent banishments to which they are exposed, 
added to the continual labour which the spiritual 
necessities of the church constantly demand ; 
all these things are matters of attention to 
those whom the Lord has judged worthy to be 
placed in authority over his children. 

" When we send one or more brethren into any 
neighbouring town or village, or 3 as we may 
have opportunity, to some more distant country, 
over the sea, to the islands, or any other part of 
the world, in order to attempt anything for the 
promotion of the Saviour's kingdom, or the re- 
gulation of its concerns, we call it a deputation. 
When these deputations become numerous, and 
establish themselves in any country, they are 
called a colony; if their meetings are regular, 
and according to apostolic order, then they are 
called churches. 

" As to suffering % I may just observe, that 
while the church is young, it does not need to 



376 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNIIUT IN 1740. 

be prepared for them, but passes through them 
with comparative indifference. A few storms 
arise, but they speedily subside, and do not 
much interrupt its peace. When the church 
becomes more established, they rage more vio- 
lently ; but we are no longer in fear of them r 
they cannot overset the vessel. They may per- 
haps sweep a sailor or two from the deck, but 
the ship keeps her course. Let us only be still, 
and direct our course according to that wisdom 
which is hidden from the world ; the Lord will 
bring to nought the purposes of the wise. They 
thought to seize on Elisha at Dothan, and they 
found him in the midst of Samaria. Like the 
people at Ephesus, they know not why they cry 
out, and they soon hold their peace. One word 
more on this subject : the church and the cross, 
poverty and reproach, and the love of reproach 
and poverty, are inseparable ; it is therefore 
nothing new, that the Lord should grant his chil- 
dren privileges mingled with threatening dangers, 
benefits seasoned with injuries, commendations 
mixed with insults; so that while they are praised 
on the one hand, they are persecuted on the 
other : it is the way of the world. 

" The institutions, or establishments of the 
church, are the means which the Lord uses for 
instruction and edification, as the seminaries for 
literary education, and our orphan and boarding- 
schools for children ; the associations of persons 
of different sexes and situations in life, as the 
choirs; of natural men, or persons who are seek- 
ing after truth, but do not yet comprehend it, 
as the classes; of souls more closely united, as 



Description of herrnhut in 1740. 377 



the bands; and of the church generally, as con- 
ferences, assemblies, &c. &c. 

" It is very important that the brethren should 
labour everywhere in the true spirit of the com- 
munity, not seeking their own advantage, but 
that of the whole church. To consult our own 
ease at the very time that we are sending hun- 
dreds of our brethren into all parts of the world, 
in the midst of poverty and distress, and while 
the church altogether is so poor, would be an 
affront to the cross of Jesus. I am therefore of 
opinion, that w r e ought to reject every man who 
shows a disposition to seek his own ease and 
advantage, and if he be a brother, we ought not 
to trouble ourselves with his complaints. 

" Christians should submit to the ordinances 
of man for the Lord's sake. The churches of 
Christ are called to yield to them as far as they 
can, and to conduct themselves with all sim- 
plicity, without suspecting evil ; but immediately 
they come to the point which conscience forbids 
them to pass, then they should be inexorable, 
and let nothing move them. Neither times, nor 
laws, nor prescriptions, are of any avail here ; 
the churches have but one plan, that is, the 
Lord's ; and but one Master, even Jesus. 

" What we call opportunities, are those little 
meetings, which are held periodically, on certain 
days, weeks, or hours, that the brethren may 
exhort, reprove, and encourage one another ; 
such are the meetings for singing or prayer, 
love feasts, &c. These ought to be attended to 
in a reverent manner, as in the presence of the 
Lord, with simplicity and order, and in confidence 
2 k 2 



378 DESCRIPTION OF HE RUN HUT IN 1740. 

of a blessing, which, though not always felt at 
the moment, yet, according to the promise of 
Jesus, cannot fail. 

" The choirs have been already described. In 
those of our churches which are fully organized, 
each choir has its subdivisions into classes and 
bands, with its labourers, charges, and elders, 
the whole under the superintendence of the ge- 
neral elders and helpers of the church. He who 
knows the secret happiness of these institutions, 
takes great delight in being found in them. We 
may observe, that every general elder of each 
church, or of the whole body, is absolutely sub- 
ordinate, as to his private conduct, to the elders 
of the choir to which he belongs, and rejoices 
in being directed by them, and in submitting to 
them. 

" The classes are little associations, forming 
parts of the same choir, and composed mostly 
of converted persons, or those who desire to be 
so. Married people commonly constitute separate 
classes, and are under the direction of a married 
brother and his wife. The bands consist of two, 
three, or more persons, united in the name of 
Jesus for conversation, in simplicity and sin- 
cerity, on the concerns of their souls ; conceal- 
ing nothing from each other, but exercising the 
greatest mutual confidence. Warm affection, 
united with discretion and daily intercourse, 
are the necessary elements of such an alliance. 

" The calling to be a soldier of Christ, is in 
consequence of an eternal election of grace as 
to this particular point. To endure sufferings 
for the name of Christ, is to such as easy and 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 379 



natural as for a fish to swim. An old proverb 
says of certain persons, that * they can fall 
without picking up any thing*/ so the soldiers 
of Christ can draw some advantage from every 
thing to the glory of their Lord. 

" Your companion in the work of the Lord, 
" On board the Saint Martin, " ZlNZENDORF. 

December 27, 1738." 

These remarks may give us some idea of the 
government of this church, and the union of 
natural and spiritual gifts, which Zinzendorf 
introduced into every department of its admi- 
nistration. We should recollect, that he held 
almost daily conferences on this subject, and 
that with persons every way capable of advising 
him. 

In these happy times, one edifying circum- 
stance quickly followed another. Hardly could 
any one pass a few minutes with any of the 
inmates of this vast seminary, without hearing 
the most penetrating and unusual sounds. These 
were from the four trumpets, playing the air 
of a hymn, from the top of the turret over the 
hall where they met. The almost magical effect 
of these instruments was often heightened by a 
solemn occurrence ; they gave the signal of the 
decease of one of the members. Immediately 
on his breathing his last, the church was warned 
of it in this manner. Every choir of the church 
has a peculiar melody, to announce the death 
of its members, so that at the time when many 
in the church are dying, every one may know, 
by a certain sound, who is at that moment en- 
tering into his rest. 



380 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 



These trumpets have also another use, that is, 
to call the people together to the place of wor- 
ship. We shall first speak of the children's 
meetings. Besides the religious conversations 
appointed to be held among them on certain 
days, under the direction of a superior, their 
public meetings have usually been attended with 
a wonderful blessing. Often does the minister, 
who instructs them, prostrate himself with them, 
as he does sometimes with the adults on solemn 
occasions, and implore on their behalf, with 
tears and sighs, grace from above ; while chil- 
dren and catechists chaunt, in responsive hymns, 
the feelings of their souls. 

The meetings of the church having been held 
from the beginning in one of the count's halls, 
he from that time always studied to give to the 
places where the brethren met, an air of freedom 
from all ecclesiastical distinctions, even in the 
name. The church was thus always called the 
hall, however large it might be ; the turret at the 
top of the building was surmounted by a lamb, 
and rose just above the surrounding houses ; the 
pastor stood on an elevated platform, with only 
a table before him, which, on festivals, was 
adorned with flowers. The floor also, after the 
German custom, was lightly sprinkled with white 
sand. 

The entrance of the different members of the 
church into the hall was characterized by the 
same order as every thing else. First, the choirs 
of young people of both sexes made their ap- 
pearance, by opposite doors, to take the benches 
assigned to them, the men on the right side of 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNIIUT IN 1740. 381 

the pastor, and the women on the left. After 
them came the married brethren and sisters, in 
the same order ; and then the widowers and 
widows ; and lastly, the children of both sexes, 
who took their places next to the preacher. 
When all were seated , the pastor came forth from 
the vestry, accompanied by the elders, who seated 
themselves on his right hand, on the same plat- 
form, while the sisters, who bore the same office 
in the church, took their places on his left. 

We may form some idea of the atmosphere, 
as we may call it, which surrounded the hearers, 
and the spirit which pervaded the assembly, from 
the words of Zinzendorf himself. " Our meet- 
ing's, " says he, " should be conducted with re- 
verence and solemnity. Whether we teach or 
pray, whether we sing or meditate, whether we 
remain sitting or standing, or in what situation 
soever we may be, every thing should breathe 
the spirit peculiar to the church. We should 
conduct ourselves as in the presence of the Lamb, 
with a feeling of reverence and adoration, as in 
the enjoyment of sensible communion with the 
spirits of the just made perfect ; so that people 
may not enter the place with indifference, but, 
on the contrary, be constrained to acknowledge 
that God is in the midst of us ; that they may 
behold, among the witnesses for the truth, un- 
expected evidences of its power, which, without 
a single word spoken, may carry conviction to 
their hearts; that the spirit of the Lord may 
breathe upon us ; that the visitors of the sick 
may speak with all wisdom; that human orators, 
for whom no temple is sufficiently large, nor 



382 DESCRIPTION OF HE URN HUT IN 1740. 



auditory sufficiently numerous, may be silent 
with astonishment in the midst of a company of 
little children." 

If ever the idea has been realized, of a nation 
of kings, an army of generals, or a church of 
priests, we may behold it here ; for many of the 
members of this church fulfilled duties which 
required an advanced state of christian expe- 
rience, and showed themselves, by turns, power- 
ful preachers, eminent missionaries, and chris- 
tians deeply versed in the ways of God towards 
men. If we examine the personal qualities of 
those who were commonly intrusted with the 
preaching of the gospel, we shall observe, be- 
sides Zinzendorf and Rothe, a Dober, a Christian 
David, the Linners, and several others, of whose 
striking gifts we may judge, from the letters we 
have already quoted, or the sketches we have 
drawn of their lives. Before, however, we pro- 
ceed to give a specimen of the preaching in this 
church, we shall follow the ordinary course of 
their meetings, and notice their singing. 

We may remember the description Zinzendorf 
has given of the first organist at Herrnhut, who, 
according to his expression, made the music of 
the church resemble the celestial harmonies. In 
music, as in other things, Zinzendorf did not 
study to make men more spiritual than God has 
made them, nor did he forget that they have 
senses ; he endeavoured to sanctify, and not to 
annihilate human tastes and feelings. The fol- 
lowing remarks of his, on this subject, may serve 
to give us a more extensive view of their singing 
at this period. 



DESCRIPTION OF HER RNIIUT IN 1740. 383 

" In the meetings of our church, we scarcely 
sing any thing else than the common hymns 
known throughout Germany ; but, in our private 
meetings, the leader of the singing collects to- 
gether verses from twenty or thirty hymns treat- 
ing on the subject under consideration, and 
presenting a continual repetition of it with the 
greatest clearness and order. The precentor, 
the organist, the preacher, and hearers, are so 
well trained to this plan, that there is no stop, 
nor is any one obliged to turn over the leaves of 
a book. No one can form an idea of it, who has 
not been an eye-witness. In the singing meet- 
ings held at my house, my son, who is about ten 
years old, can pass on his organ from one melody 
to another, without any one perceiving that the 
hymns have not been arranged and concerted 
on purpose. There is no interruption, and the 
youngest can join in the singing with the rest, 
without opening a book ; for all our children are 
in the habit of committing the hymns to memory. 
I know not how they do it, for no one obliges 
them to this labour. 

u In our public meetings, I first have one of 
the usual hymns given out; but after the dis- 
course, if I find nothing in the common collec- 
tion which suits my subject, or if 1 wish to 
impress it more deeply on the minds of my 
hearers, or to present a prayer to the Saviour 
for this purpose, I dictate to the brethren some 
new hymn, which I never thought of before, and 
which is forgotten as soon as it has answered 
its end. The auditory perceives no difference, 
and I only mention it to give an example of the 



384 DESCRIPTION OF HER RN HUT IN 1740. 

manner in which things are conducted among 
us. We confine ourselves to a reasonable ser- 
vice, suited to all sorts of persons, all circum- 
stances, and all the modifications of things and 
times, acting always as in the presence of God. 
Every gift, which our Saviour bestows upon us 
for this purpose, we possess, for use, and not 
for display, or to excite attention. " 

We come now to the discourses which were 
preached in this church, and of these, too, Zin- 
zendorf has given so complete an analysis, that 
we cannot do better than cite the following pas- 
sages from his writings. 

" Our whole system of theology," says he, " is 
founded on the love of God our Saviour, which 
induced him to take our flesh and blood, and to 
suffer the death of the cross, in order to repair 
and atone for the fault of Adam, and to remove 
the distance that naturally exists between God 
and the human race. The sacrifice of the cross 
therefore not only shows us the greatness of our 
misery, but also the merciful design of our Sa- 
viour to justify us and to render us happy. The 
establishment of a union between us and the Sa- 
viour, takes place without any merit or worthi- 
ness on our part ; an earnest desire of the soul, 
a dissatisfaction with ourselves, a kind of shame, 
that, being the creatures of God, we have lived so 
little for his glory, are all dispositions, which may 
be regarded as the precursors of other graces. 
He who has once seen himself lost in his sin, and 
saved by Christ, loses himself by a happy ex- 
change in love and tenderness, in admiration and 
gratitude towards his God. Such a one has 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNIIUT IN 1740. 385 



found an inexhaustible source of love and thanks- 
giving, of entire devotedness of heart to his Sa- 
viour, his Friend, his Beriefactor ; and as soon as 
he knows and loves Jesus, he thinks so little of 
growing weary of his attachment, that he would 
advance still farther in intimacy and communion 
with his Beloved. From that moment it is only 
in his presence he walks or stops, wakes or sleeps, 
labours or rests, eats or drinks, sings or prays ; 
for He is always with him. 

" In the midst of all this we are still poor sinners, 
and are every day ashamed when we think of 
ourselves. Our strength is altogether that of 
Christ, and our salvation is from him alone, from 
his forgiveness, his righteousness, his merits, and 
his wounds. It is he who clothes us with holi- 
ness ; we are his people, poor and wretched, but 
beloved by him, and loving him in our turn. 
There is a power in the forgiveness of sin that 
destroys sin ; and the gospel by which we obtain 
the pardon of iniquity, is also the power of God 
to heal our infirmities. He who realizes this 
feeling, never loses it ; he is ever conscious of 
being a poor sinner, for ever dependent upon the 
mere grace of God. Poor and weak, however, as 
a gracious soul feels itself, it is still united in the 
closest bonds to the Saviour, and has free access 
to him. In this situation, it most willingly and 
promptly carries all its sorrows to him, with a 
contrition and humiliation of heart that ever 
preclude levity and presumption. For, while 
coming to him with all our faults and wanderings, 
and enjoying a sweet familiarity with him and 
with the Holy Spirit, we cannot forget that he is 
2 L 



386 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 

our Creator and our God, and thus we cannot 
think or act before him with lightness. Every 
thing thus passes as if we were in his presence ; 
we weep when we should weep, and when we re- 
joice in his grace, it is only with the deepest re- 
verence. Familiarity with the Saviour thus pro- 
duces not levity, but the most solemn awe, com- 
bined with complete tranquillity and happiness. 
It is the Saviour's will, that we should enjoy 
what has cost him so many and such great suffer- 
ings to procure ; his hours of agony, his passion 
and death, have made happiness a duty; so that 
we are as much required, in order to testify our 
gratitude, to be happy as to obey. We degrade 
and dishonour his merits, instead of glorifying 
his bitter sufferings, when we do not enjoy full 
happiness in him, and all that peace and joy 
which he has purchased with his blood. With 
these sentiments, we at the same time experience 
a strong feeling of shame, when we look at our- 
selves, and think that we were the occasion of 
his sufferings; we are distressed on considering 
how ungrateful we have been, and how little we 
have done for his glory ; thus our happiness and 
joy are mingled with the greatest adoration, be- 
fore him who has redeemed us. 

"A soul that lives to the Saviour ought to be 
absorbed in his love; this love should surpass 
all that we can ever feel for parents and chil- 
dren, and husbands and wives, and every thing 
in the world ; for he gave his life for us. It must 
possess the whole heart ; the Saviour will not 
accept a mere share in our affections ; all our 
powers of soul and body should be devoted to 



DESCRIPTION OF HERKNHUT IN 1740. 387 

him. The love of Jesus also produces in the 
heart a sincere and ardent love to all men, the 
evil and the good. The witnesses for Jesus, espe- 
cially, ought to have hearts devoted to all men, 
esteeming it their joy to love and to do good to 
all. These dispositions excite neither self-righ- 
teousness nor vanity ; they have a tendency to 
produce only that beautiful, lovely, and holy 
harmony which the Saviour has bequeathed to 
his people, as the mark by which they should be 
known. 

"It is true, that the love which we should bear 
to all, is required particularly towards those that 
belong to the Saviour ; without this we are not 
true brethren, we are not in a state of grace, or 
members of the body of Christ. Even those of 
his children, of whom we have never heard, as 
soon as they enter into the slightest connexion 
with us, become immediately dear and estimable 
to us ; their joy and grief become ours, as ours 
are shared with them. The communion of the 
children of God is a necessary consequence of 
our communion with Christ. 

"The same faith in the death of Jesus, which 
makes our lives peaceful and happy, also affords 
us profit and joy in the prospect of death. We 
are assured that the angel of death can do us no 
harm ; but we shall fall asleep in the arms of 
Jesus, and thus our departure will be tranquil 
and easy ; our dwelling-place shall be with the 
Lord ; a few days, or months, or years, will con- 
duct us to him, and the lively and constant hope 
of rejoining our Saviour, forms a principal part 
of our happiness and joy here below. And it is 



388 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 

God alone who works all these things with won- 
derful power in our hearts, by means of his gos- 
pel ; it is not at all of ourselves. From the blessed 
moment in which a soul receives the message of 
the death of our Saviour on the cross, it is sen- 
sible of no feelings but those of love and grace, 
holiness and redemption ; it can do nothing but 
weep at the feet of the Saviour ; a holy famili- 
arity with him exalts and humbles it at the same 
time. It can present to Jesus nothing in return, 
but ardent love and absolute devotedness. Re- 
joicing, and yet ashamed at the same time, a be- 
liever thus lost in the love of his God, has only 
one word to reply to every command, / am a 
sinner 

These extracts may give some feeble idea of 
the unction that attended Zinzendorf's discourses. 
We have not selected the most brilliant passages, 
but those which most clearly express the funda- 
mental principles of divinity held by the church 
of the brethren. We add an extract from a dis- 
course, still extant, of another of the brethren's 
preachers, J. de Watteville, afterwards one of the 
most distinguished bishops of this church. 

' 6 As it is the unhappiness of the natural man 
to be ignorant of the Saviour, and entirely 
estranged from him; so the radical cause and 
fault from which arises the unhappiness of every 
one that already knows the Saviour, is want of 
vigilance in keeping up a constant connexion and 
communion with him ; thus his love for him is 
more or less interrupted, and other objects steal 
into the mind, and render us in some degree in- 
different to his love. As a man, when he is first 



Description of iierrnhut in 1740. 389 

awakened from the sleep of spiritual death, and 
feels his want of the Saviour, is terrified and la- 
ments incessantly until Jesus appear ; so also a 
soul, which has experienced the grace of God, is 
affrighted immediately it perceives the least cold- 
ness towards its Saviour. A brother should not 
wait till he perceives the strongest symptoms of 
the corruption and sin that dwells in him, in or- 
der to feel the deepest distress ; but the moment 
he sees that he has advanced a single step with- 
out a fresh visit from his Saviour, and that his 
heart has lost some of its affection for him, this 
alone should be sufficient to make him shed tears 
of grief, and they will never cease to flow until 
the Friend of his soul again appears, and looks 
on him with kindness. No, my brethren, w r e 
must not wait for the full outbreaking of our cor- 
ruptions, in order to be sensible of our loss of 
communion with the Saviour. It is the will of 
our Friend that we should rejoice in him, and 
bear him on our hearts at all times, and that he 
should fill us, as he once did the temple, with his 
presence. O what joy is it to our Saviour when, 
sleeping and waking, we still hold communion 
with him ! Our hearts should converse always 
with this dear Saviour, and for this purpose we 
want no audible words." 

These are some specimens of the general strain 
of preaching among the brethren. That we may 
feel their full impression, it is of great import- 
ance to remember, that discourses of this kind 
were their daily food, their constant provision ; 
and, as appears from innumerable manuscript 
and printed works, which might be quoted, they 
2 l 2 



390 DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IB 1740. 

were accustomed constantly to receive exhorta- 
tions of this kind, or even superior. 

In noticing the hymns used by this church, we 
rind ourselves embarrassed by the abundance of 
matter. It is not the beauty of the language, 
which recommends them to our regard ; on the 
contrary, the style is often barbarous and un- 
couth ; the elevation of their sentiments, and the 
depth of their views, constitute their only merit. 
Sometimes, in a series of stanzas of very great ex- 
cellence, we meet with some expressions which 
we cannot strictly justify, and yet we feel as if 
we would not change them, unless absolute ne- 
cessity requires the alteration. With these ex- 
ceptions, we imagine, that no reader who has 
risen above the prejudice of disliking every thing 
he has not been accustomed to in his own church, 
will find any one of these hymns, which for unc- 
tion, depth, maturity, and weight of thought, does 
not equal any thing to be found in other collec- 
tions. 

The brethren have composed several thousand 
hymns : the great German collection, which 
they use to this day, contains about two thou- 
sand two hundred; the French collection, only 
five hundred and sixty-six. Two hundred of 
them, at least, might be quoted as highly de- 
serving of notice ; and the reader, who takes the 
trouble to consult the " Brethren's Hymn Book," 
will meet with a rich feast of evangelical and 
pious sentiment." 

We have now given some faint idea of the 

* We have inserted a few, as a specimen, at the end of 
this chapter. 



DESCRIPTION OF HERRNHUT IN 1740. 391 



kind of preaching that prevailed amongst the 
brethren ; we have adverted to their public and 
private worship, the piety which prevailed in 
their churches, their families, and their own 
hearts; and we might, to finish the picture, 
furnish some details of their different meetings, 
their festivals, litanres, and other similar mat- 
ters. But we must forbear ; we have already 
reached the limits assigned to this work, and 
should only be repeating the same things in 
different language. Every thing among the bre- 
thren partook of the spirit by which they were 
animated ; and wherever, to the present moment, 
we see them persevering in their devotedness to 
the Saviour, there we shall behold the same sim- 
plicity and love which formerly characterized 
them in so high a degree. 

Our account presents only a feeble picture of 
the true life of God that existed in this church. 
In order to have a better notion of these things, 
we have need to collect into one view all the 
scattered traits to be found in this work, and 
to recollect the impression which we received 
from reading the whole of these pages. 



HYMNS. 



PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 

O head so full of bruises, 

So full of pain and scorn, 
'Midst other sore abuses, 

Mocked with a crown of thorn ! 
O head, ere now surrounded 

With brightest majesty, 
In death now bowed and wounded ! 

Saluted be by me. 

Lord, what thee tormented 
Was my sin's heavy load I 

1 had the debt augmented, 
Which thou didst pay in blood : 

Here am I, blushing sinner, 
On whom wrath ought to light, 

thou, my health's beginner! 
Let thy grace cheer my sight. 

I'll here with thee continue, 

(Though poor, despise me not,) 
I'm one of thy retinue 

As were I on the spot, 
When, earning my election, 

Thy heart-strings broke in death ; 
With shame and love's affection 

I'll watch thy latest breath. 

1 give thee thanks unfeigned, 
O Jesus ! Friend in need ! 

For what thy soul sustained, 
When thou for me didst bleed : 



HYMNS. 



Grant me to lean unshaken 
Upon thy faithfulness, 

Until from hence I'm taken 
To see thee face to face. 

Lord, at my dissolution, 

Do not from me depart, 
Support, at the conclusion 

Of life, my fainting heart ; 
And when I pine and languish, 

Seized with death's agony, 
O, by thy pain and anguish, 

Set me at liberty. 



SWERTNER. ■ 

Highly favoured congregation, 

Founded firm on Christ the Rock ! 
Own with thanks and adoration, 

He's the Shepherd, we his flock ; 
He's our Saviour, whose great favour 
We've 'midst many trials proved, 
We're unworthy, yet beloved. 

Most who enter your blest borders 
View with awe your Master's aim ; 

And your government and orders 
Prompt them to revere his name. 

Lord most holy ! may we truly 

Prize our great predestination 

In thy chosen congregation. 

Think, my soul, how great the favour 

In Jehovah's courts to dwell! 
There poor sinners meet their Saviour; 

There the sin-sick souls grow well. 
Was not Jesus, always gracious, 
When we, conscious how we failed, 
To his loving heart appealed 1 



394 



HYMNS. 



ROTHE. 

Now I have found the ground wherein 

Sure my soul's anchor may remain ; 
Even Christ, who, to atone for sin, 

Was as a spotless victim slain ; 
Whose mercy shall unshaken stay, 
When heaven and earth are fled away. 

O Lord, thy everlasting grace 

Our scanty thought surpasseth far ; 
Thou showest maternal tenderness, 

Thy arms of love still open are ; 
Thy heart o'er sinners can't but break, 
Whether thy grace they slight or take. 

God in man's death takes no delight ; 

Each soul may grace and life obtain 
In him, who left his glory bright, 

Took flesh, and died, and rose again j 
And now he knocks, times numberless, 
At our hearts' door, and offers grace. 

O Love ! thou bottomless abyss, 

My sins are swallowed up in thee ; 
Covered is my unrighteousness, 

From condemnation now I'm free, 
Since Jesus' blood, through earth and skies, 
" Mercy, free, boundless mercy !" cries. 

By faith I plunge into this sea, 

Here is my hope, my joy, my rest ; 
Hither, when sin assails, I flee, 

I look into my Saviour's breast : 
Away, sad doubt, and anxious fear, — 
" Mercy," is all that's written there. 

Though waves and storms go o'er my head, 

Though strength, and health, and friends be gone 

Though joys be withered all, and dead, 
Though every comfort be withdrawn ; 

Stedfast on this my soul relies, 

Jesus, thy mercy never dies. 



HYMNS. 



395 



Fixed on this ground may 1 remain, 

Though my heart fail, and flesh decay ; 

This anchor shall my soul sustain 

When earth's foundations melt away. 

Mercy's full power I then shall prove, 

Loved with an everlasting love ! 



ZINZENDORF. 

What joy or honour could we have, 

Polluted as we are, 
If not the holy Lamb of God 

Our joy and honour were ! 

Of nothing we have ever done, 

To boast could we desire, 
When he to judge us shall appear, 

Whose eyes are flames of fire. 

None is so holy, pure, and just, 

So perfected in love, 
That his best plea, or self-defence, 

Of any weight could prove 

Nor is there any other way 

Into the holy place, 
But Christ, who took away our sins, 

His blood and righteousness. 

We know the righteousness complete 
Which he procured for all; 

We know the kind reception given 
To the poor prodigal. 

We know the Shepherd's love, who left 

The ninety-nine behind, 
And through the desert anxious went, 

The hundredth sheep to find. 

To him poor sinners may appeal 

With all their misery ; 
The angels joy to see him come, 

Christ calleth, — " Come to me," 



396 



HYMNS. 



GERHARD. 

Give to the winds thy fears, 

Hope, and be undismayed ; 
God hears thy sighs, and counts thy tears, 

God shall lift up thy head. 
Through waves, through clouds, and storm 

He gently clears thy way ; 
Wait thou his time, so shall the night 

Soon end in joyous day. 

He every where hath way, 

And all things serve his might; 
His every act pure blessing is, 

His path unsullied light. 
When he makes bare his arm, 

What shall his work withstand ? 
When he his people's cause defends, 

Who, who shall stay his hand ? 

Leave to his sovereign sway 

To choose, and to command; 
With wonder filled, thou then shalt own 

How wise, how strong his hand. 
Thou comprehend'st him not, 

Yet earth and heaven tell, 
God sits as sovereign on the throne, 

He ruleth all things well. 

Thou seest our weakness, Lord, 

Our hearts are known to thee ; 
O lift thou up the sinking hand, 

Confirm the feeble knee : 
Let us, in life and death, 

Boldly thy truth declare, 
And publish, with our latest breath, 

Thy love and guardian care. 



SCHINDLER. 
Lamb of God, who thee receive, 
Who in thee desire to live, 
Cry by night and day to thee, 
As thou art, so let us be. 



HYMNS. 



397 



Fix, O fix our wavering mind, 
To thy cross us firmly bind : 
Gladly now we would be clean, 
Cleanse our hearts from every sin. 

Dust and ashes though we be, 
Full of guilt and misery ; 
Thine we are, thou Son of God, 
Take the purchase of thy blood. 

Sinners who in thee believe, 
Everlasting life receive ; 
They with joy behold thy face, 
Triumph in thy pardoning grace. 

Life deriving from thy death, 
They proceed from faith to faith ; 
Walk the new, the living way, 
Leading to eternal day. 

Blest are they who follow thee, 
While this light of life they see ; 
Filled with thy sacred love, 
They thy quickening power prove. 

Praise on earth to thee be given, 
Never-ceasing praise ill heaven ; 
Boundless wisdom, power divine, 
Love unspeakable, are thine ! 



WINKLER. 

Shall T, through fear of feeble man, 
The Spirit's fire in me restrain ? 
Awed by a mortal's frown, shall I 
Conceal the word of God most High 1 

Shall I, to sooth the unholy throng, 
Soften thy truth, and smooth my tongue] 
To gain earth's gilded toys, or flee 
The cross endured, my God, by thee ! 
2 M 



398 



HYMNS. 



No, fearless I'll in deed and word 
Witness of thee, my gracious Lord \ 
My life and blood I here present, 
If for thy truth they may be spent. 

For this, let men revile my name, 
No cross I shun, I fear no shame ; 
I no reproach nor sufferings dread, — 
Is Christ with me, I'm not afraid. 

Give me thy strength, O God of power; 
Then let winds blow, or thunders roar, 
I need not fear, by sea or land, 
For thou, my God, wilt by me stand. 



SWERTNER. 

Sing hallelujah ! praise the Lord ! 

Sing with a cheerful voice ; 
Exalt our God with one accord, 

And in his name rejoice : 
Ne'er cease to sing, thou ransomed host ; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! 
Until, in realms of endless light, 
Your praises shall unite. 

There we, to all eternity, 

Shall join the angelic lays, 
And sing, in perfect harmony, 

To God, our Saviour's praise : 
M He hath redeemed us by his blood, 
And made us kings and priests to God ; 
For us, for us the Lamb was slain." 
Praise ye the Lord ! — Amen. 



APPENDIX. 



CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY TO THE DEATH 
OF COUNT ZINZENDORF. BRIEF SKETCH OF THE 
PRESENT STATE OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 

The original work from which this is translated 
ends with the preceding chapter. We have 
thought it advisable to add the following brief 
particulars, which, no doubt, will prove interest- 
ing to general readers. 

Leonard Dober, it will be recollected, had 
been chosen general elder in the year 1735. 
The duties of this office were very numerous and 
burdensome, and involved a heavy responsibility. 
The general elder was superintendent of the 
whole work in which the brethren were engaged, 
at home and abroad. He was expected to be 
thoroughly acquainted with the circumstances 
of every congregation and establishment, and 
to be prepared to give advice or to exert his au- 
thority, as the occasion might require. He 
maintained a constant communication with all 
who laboured for the church in every part of the 
world. He was president of the elders' confer- 
ences, and pronounced the final decision on all 



400 



APPENDIX. 



disputed questions. And every member of the 
church was at liberty to consult him respecting 
his personal concerns. 

It is obvious, that the individual on whom this 
office devolved, ought to possess qualifications of 
a very high order, and such as are rarely com- 
bined in one person. Dober felt himself at 
length so much oppressed with the weight of 
perplexity and care, that, in the year 1740, he 
tendered his resignation. It was not accepted 
till the next year, when, at a synodal conference, 
held in London, it was unanimously resolved to 
abolish the office altogether, and, instead of de- 
pending on the wisdom of a fellow-man, to seek 
direction from the Great Head of the Church, 
in all cases in which the scripture and the lead- 
ings of providence did not furnish a clear rule 
of action, by the use of the lot.* 

Numerous settlements and societies of the 
brethren were founded, both in Europe and 
America, in the period included between the 

* It is a fundamental principle in the constitution of 
the brethren's church, that the lot ought not to be used in 
any of the following cases : — L When the subject is clearly 
decided in holy writ. 2. When the will of the Lord is dis- 
tinctly marked out by the leadings of Divine Providence. 
3. When the point in question is already determined by a 
fixed rule in the constitution of the church Its use, there- 
fore, is restricted to those cases on which no decisive judg- 
ment can be formed by any of the just mentioned rules, when 
much may be said for either side of the question, and when 
the adoption or rejection of a proposed measure involves the 
general welfare of the church ; such as the appointment 
of persons to episcopal and other offices, the formation of 
new settlements, the establishment of new missions, &c. — 
Holmes, vol. i. p. 289. 



APPENDIX. 



401 



year 1740 and the death of count Zinzendorf. 
A brief notice of some few of them will be now 
given.* 

Niesky, in Saxony, contained two institutions 
for ministers' children : in one of them the 
pupils received instruction in the common 
branches of education ; in the other they com- 
menced the study of the classics and general 
literature, preparatory to their admission into the 
theological seminary, which was established 
at Barby, another settlement in Saxony. There, 
the young men destined for the ministry pursued 
their studies, under the direction of a minister, 
and competent tutors. Their term of continu- 
ance was usually three years, during which 
time, in addition to the study of divinity and 
ecclesiastical history, they improved themselves 
in the knowledge of the learned languages, and 
received instruction in mathematics^ natural 
philosophy, logic, and other sciences. In the 
year 1789, it may be observed, these institutions 
changed places, the theological seminary being 
removed to Niesky, and the schools to Barby. 

The society formed in London was at first 
connected with John and Charles Wesley, who 
were, for some time, strongly prepossessed in 
favour of the brethren, having had much edifying 
intercourse with them in America. On the re- 
turn of the Wesleys to England, Peter Boehler, 
one of the brethren's ministers, accompanied them 
to. Oxford, where he preached and held private 

* For an account of the brethren's labours in America, 
see " Missionary Records, North America/' published by 
the Religious Tract Society. 

2 m 2 




meetings for prayer and conference, which were 
attended by many persons, both members of 
the university and inhabitants of the city. A 
regular society was formed in London, and a 
minister appointed to preside over it. The union 
between the two parties did not, however, continue 
long. Various points of difference, relating to 
doctrine and discipline, were soon observed, and 
the consequence was an entire separation. 

The cause prospered in other parts of England. 
Societies were formed in Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, 
Somersetshire, and Cheshire. But it was in 
Yorkshire that the brethren's institutions took 
deepest root. By the labours of Benjamin Ing- 
ham, a great number of persons had been con- 
vinced of sin, and savingly converted to God. 
At their earnest solicitation, the brethren sent 
John Toeltschig, one of their ministers, into 
Yorkshire, under whose direction many societies 
were founded, some of which still remain. This 
at length led to the formation of a colony, or 
settlement of the brethren, on the plan of that at 
Herrnhut. Fulneck , in Yorkshire, was the place 
chosen for that purpose. It lies in the township 
of Pudsey, about six miles west of Leeds. A 
purchase of land was effected, and the settlement 
was regularly organized in the year 1755. It 
has been ever since the most important station 
of the brethren in England. In addition to the 
ordinary arrangements for the single brethren 
and sisters, &c. two schools were established; 
one for boys, and the other for girls. They were 
at first intended for the children of ministers, and 
other labourers in the brethren's church ; but 



APPENDIX. 



403 



they have since been also used as boarding schools, 
on a large scale, many persons, not in connexion 
with the brethren, having requested permission 
to send their children to them for education. 
Similar schools have been established at other 
settlements and stations. 

In Ireland, much good was done through the 
instrumentality of the Rev. J. Cennick. This ex- 
cellent man was at first in connexion with White- 
field ; he joined the brethren in 1745. His 
labours in Ireland commenced in 1746. During 
nine years he was diligently engaged in the work 
of the Lord in that country, assisted by the Rev. 
Benjamin La Trobe and others, and was emi- 
nently blessed. At Dublin, and several places 
in the north of Ireland, congregations were 
formed, some of which still exist. Much op- 
position was encountered, and sometimes the 
preachers were compelled to seek safety by 
flight. Mr. Cennick died in 1755, in the prime 
of his years, much and deservedly lamented. 

In 1741, some brethren in London associated 
together for prayer, and conference relative to 
missionary objects. Prayer meetings were held 
once a month, when such Intelligence as had 
recently arrived from abroad was communicated, 
and each contributed, according to his ability, 
to a fund established for that purpose. This 
was the origin of u The Brethren's Society for 
the furtherance of the Gospel among the Hea- 
then." 

The progress of the brethren's societies in Eng- 
land rendered some legislative enactments in their 
favour necessary, that they might be publicly 



404 



APPENDIX. 



recognized as a religious body, and protected 
in the free enjoyment of their modes of worship, 
and the diffusion of their principles and insti- 
tutions. Lieutenant-general Oglethorpe was 
their friend on this occasion. He succeeded in 
obtaining a committee of the house of commons, 
to examine the allegations of a petition presented 
by the brethren, and the numerous documents, 
illustrative of their principles and history, by 
which it was supported. A bill was subsequently- 
introduced, which passed through both nouses, 
with little alteration, and received the royal as- 
sent, June 6, 1749. By this bill the church of 
the brethren was acknowledged, as " an ancient 
protestant episcopal church;" the free and full 
exercise of their worship and ecclesiastical con- 
stitution was guaranteed ; simple affirmation in 
the name of Almighty God was allowed to them 
instead of an oath ; a dispensation from serv- 
ing as jurymen, in criminal cases, was granted ; 
and they were exempted, under certain con- 
ditions, from actual military service in the North 
American colonies ; this last exemption has been 
since extended, on payment of a small fine, to 
the militia at home. Much good resulted from 
this measure. Various calumnies, which had been 
propagated against the brethren, were closely 
investigated by the parliamentary committee, 
and their falsehood exposed ; correct informa- 
tion respecting their tenets and practices was 
widely disseminated ; and an impression was 
very generally produced, highly favourable to 
their cause. 

The introduction of the brethren into Russia 



APPENDIX. 



405 



was distinguished by successes and sufferings 
of no ordinary character. Count ZinzendorPs 
journey into the Russian provinces, of Livonia 
and Esthonia, has been already noticed ; and it 
has been stated that five brethren were sent into 
Livonia, in 1737, in compliance with the solicita- 
tions of several persons of rank, who wished to 
avail themselves of their services in the education 
of their children. One of them, Magnus Fre- 
derick Buntebart, was appointed director of a 
seminary for training schoolmasters, instituted by 
lady Hallert, and was also assistant to the parish 
minister of Wolmershof. His labours were so 
blessed, that in a short time several thousand 
persons w T ere brought under concern for the 
salvation of their souls, and a general awakening 
took place throughout the district. Additional 
help being thereby required, more brethren were 
sent into the provinces. Some of them became 
tutors in noblemen's families, or assistants to the 
parish ministers ; others, who were mechanics, 
introduced several manufactures, before un- 
known in Livonia, and employed their leisure 
hours to instruct the natives in Christianity. 
Astonishing results followed their efforts. " In 
many districts, every parish, and in many pa- 
rishes almost every family, became seriously im- 
pressed with the truths of the gospel. A striking 
change took place in their moral deportment : 
gluttony and drunkenness, vices to which they 
had been much addicted, were laid aside ; and 
the time formerly spent in alehouses was now 
occupied in useful conversation, in reading the 
Bible, in prayer, and singing hymns."* 

* Holmes, vol. i. p. 352. 



406 



APPENDIX. 



About the same time, two Lutheran clergy- 
men, in the island of Oesel, engaged the assist- 
ance of some of the brethren in their parochial 
labours, and were signally blessed. Of Hoelter- 
hof, one of these clergymen, it is said, that, 
" besides the regular service in the parish church, 
he went every Sunday to the adjacent villages, 
for the purpose of proclaiming the message of re- 
conciliation to those of his parishioners who could 
not come to church. Multitudes followed him 
from place to place, and his testimony concerning 
Christ crucified approved itself as the power and 
wisdom of God to the poor and oppressed Es- 
thonians. Every day in the week his house was 
literally besieged by visitors, who came singly 
and in companies to inquire what they must do 
to be saved. Nor was this a transient impres- 
sion ; the seed of the Divine word fell into 
good ground, and brought forth the fruits of 
righteousness. Many of these oppressed vassals, 
who, in the days of their ignorance, had thought 
it no sin to defraud their proprietors, were now 
convinced of its guilt. They almost stripped 
themselves of the little they possessed, and 
conveyed provisions and household furniture to 
their lords, which they offered as a compensa- 
tion for articles they had formerly purloined." 
GutslefF, the friend and coadjutor of Hoelterhof, 
laboured at Arensberg, and with similar success. 
His ministry " was blessed to the awakening 
and conversion of many, among whom were se- 
veral noble families, and some country clergy- 
men. Among other proofs of the general reform 
that took place, it may be mentioned, that during 
the period of five years, from 1740 to 1745, not 



APPENDIX. 



407 



a single criminal process occurred, and many 
publicans were compelled to shut up their houses, 
there being scarcely any demand for ale and 
spirituous liquors."* 

These events excited the enmity of certain 
evil-disposed persons, who lodged false accusa- 
tions against GutslefT and Hoelterhof, who, to- 
gether with Fritsche and Krugelstein, members 
of the brethren's church, the latter of whom was 
a physician, were thrown into prison, where they 
endured great sufferings, and were not released 
till twelve years afterwards. " But the word of 
God was not bound/' The converts still con- 
tinued to meet together, though commonly by 
night, and in the forests, to elude the vigilance 
of their persecutors, who sought every oppor- 
tunity to detect and punish them. They be- 
lieved, and waited patiently for the Lord ; and 
their faith was rewarded. The work continued 
to advance, year after year, and it still prospers: 
in the provinces of Livonia and Esthonia there 
are, at the present time, upwards of thirty thou- 
sand members of the church of the brethren. 

Among the missionary labours of the bre- 
thren, in the period now under review, may be 
mentioned the efforts of Richter, formerly a 
merchant at Stralsund, who relinquished his 
commercial engagements, and joined the bre- 
thren at Herrnhut, that he might be employed in 
difFusingthe gospel. His first attempts were among 
the gipsies, and there was reason to believe that 
he did not labour altogether in vain. He then 
proceeded to Algiers, to administer spiritual 

* Holmes, vol. i. pp. 354, 355. 



408 



APPENDIX. 



instruction and consolation to the christian 
slaves in that city. The plague was then raging, 
notwithstanding which he daily visited the objects 
of his solicitude, preaching the gospel to them, 
and attending them in their sickness, till at 
length he caught the infection, and fell a sacri- 
fice to his zeal, in the year 1740. He was suc- 
ceeded by two brethren, who resided at Algiers 
for several years, and had the happiness to see 
some fruit of their efforts, in the hopeful con- 
version of many of the slaves. 

Zinzendorf lived in exile ten years. In the 
year 1747, an inquiry was instituted into his 
case, and the result was, that he was permitted to 
return to Saxony, and a royal decree was issued, 
re-instating him in all his former privileges. Be- 
fore he availed himself, however, of this decree, 
the count procured another commission of in- 
quiry relative to the brethren's church, which 
was still the object of most foul and calumnious 
accusations. The examination terminated in the 
most favourable manner, and a royal charter 
was issued, dated September 20, 1749, empower- 
ing the brethren to form settlements in any part 
of the Saxon dominions, and conceding to them 
full liberty of conscience. 

The excellent and devoted Christian David 
was called to his rest, February 3, 1751. His 
life had been eminently active. Thrice he visited 
Greenland, in pursuance of missionary objects. 
He undertook many long and toilsome journeys, 
in different parts of Europe. When new ground 
was to be broken up, he was ever ready for the 
work. His labours were much blessed and ho- 



APPENDIX. 



409 



noured, and many acknowledged him as their 
spiritual father. He died at Herrnhut, where 
he usually resided when not actually engaged 
in the service of the church, and where he fol- 
lowed his trade as a carpenter. Count Zinzen- 
dorf preached his funeral, sermon, in which he 
bore an affectionate and faithful testimony to 
his piety and zeal. " He was a man of so ex- 
traordinary a character," the count observed, 
" that we used to say, we have but one Christian 
David." 

A heavy trial came upon the brethren in the 
year 1753. The expenses of erecting their settle- 
ments, supporting the theological seminaries and 
other institutions for education, establishing and 
carrying on their missions in heathen countries, 
and providing for the maintenance of the widows 
and children of the missionaries, amounted an- 
nually to very large sums. To meet these de- 
mands, the count and his lady expended the whole 
of their splendid incomes, reserving but a small 
portion for their domestic expenses, which were 
curtailed in every direction, in order that the ne- 
cessities of the cause might be supplied. Some 
friends occasionally helped them, and those of 
the brethren who possessed property cheerfully 
co-operated. But as the expenditure continued 
to increase, Zinzendorf found it necessary to 
mortgage his estates. During his exile the mort- 
gagees called in their money, when some friends 
in Holland advanced the sums required, and at 
a much lower rate of interest than had been paid 
before, at the same time engaging to assist the 
brethren by annual contributions. This proved 

2 N" 



410 



APPENDIX. 



a temporary relief. Still expenses increased, and 
more money was borrowed by the brethren. At 
last, one of their creditors having fallen into 
difficulties, required payment, and others of 
them hearing of it, and fearing that they were in 
danger of losing their money, pressed for a settle- 
ment. It was a time of severe trial. But the 
noble spirit of Zinzendorf saved the cause. He 
made himself personally responsible for the whole 
sum, and undertook to pay both principal and 
interest, by instalments, within a certain time. 
His proposition was accepted, the threatened 
ruin was averted, and the 23rd of February, 
1754, was observed as a day of public thanks- 
giving to God, in all the congregations of the 
brethren. 

A severe loss was sustained, not only by Zin- 
zendorf himself, but by the brethren's church at 
large, in the year 1756. On the 19th of June, 
in that year, the countess departed this life, in 
the 56th year of her age, and the 35th of her 
union with her husband. She was a woman of 
a powerful and well-cultivated mind, and admir- 
ably qualified for that general management of 
affairs which the count's engagements in the 
cause of God rendered it necessary she should 
undertake. Meek in temper, and condescending 
in manners, she knew how to maintain her dig- 
nity without haughtiness, and therefore was not 
less respected than loved by all who knew her. 
Her piety was unaffected and fervent. In pene- 
tration and prudence she excelled most. Her 
liberality was of a princely character. As the 
wife of a good man, calumniated and persecuted 



APPENDIX. 



411 



for his religion, she shone with surpassing bright- 
ness. " When, for the gospel's sake, he relin- 
quished all his expectations of wealth and worldly 
honour, and subjected himself to banishment 
and persecution, instead of repining at her loss, 
(as the world would call it,) she accounted it gain 
to suffer the loss of all things that she might win 
Christ. Instead of harassing her consort by 
grieving and murmuring, she confirmed him in 
his resolution, and encouraged his faith and trust 
in God. When he was disqualified from attend- 
ing to his temporal concerns, she took the whole 
management of his estates, as well as of his do- 
mestic affairs, into her own hands. Though of a 
delicate constitution, and the mother of twelve 
children, she accompanied her husband on many 
of his journeys and voyages; or bore repeated and 
long separations from him, without repining, 
whenever they were rendered necessary by his 
labours in the vineyard of Christ. In short, they 
were of one heart and soul, not only in their 
conjugal relation, but in their determination to 
consecrate themselves, their children, their time, 
and their wealth, to Christ and his service."* 

Zinzendorf married again in the following year. 
The object of his choice was Anna Nitschmann, 
whose name is already recorded in this history, 
in connexion with the establishment of the choir 
of single sisters at Herrnhut. 

The last three years of the count's life were 
spent in revising his publications, adding some 



* Holmes, vol. i. p. 418. 



412 



APPENDIX, 



new ones to their number, and in several jour- 
neys into distant parts of the European conti- 
nent. His incessant labours had now greatly 
impaired his health. In the spring of the year 
1760, it was evident that his strength was rapidly 
declining. But his ardour was unabated ; no 
considerations could induce him to intermit his 
usual labours ; and his last days were diligently 
occupied in his Master's service. On May 9, 
1760, his toils ended. His closing hours are 
thus described by his biographer : — 

" Although count Zinzendorf had spent a 
very uneasy and sleepless night, he persevered 
in his work, on May 5, and finished the task, 
which, according to his usual custom, he had 
set himself for that day. When he had com- 
pleted the manuscript (of the annual collection 
of texts), he handed it to a friend, with these 
words ; ' Now rest will be sweet.' He dined with 
his family, but ate very little. In the afternoon 
he composed a hymn, and attended a solemn 
meeting of the single sisters. In the evening he 
conversed in a very confidential and affectionate 
manner with his three daughters, and other mem- 
bers of his family. His mind was kept in per- 
fect peace, stayed upon the Lord. 

" On the following day he grew sensibly 
weaker in body, but his mind had not yet lost 
its activity. He continued his revision of the 
texts for 1761, and had all the letters which 
arrived read to him, together with some accounts 
from the missions, when he expressed his joy at 
their prosperity. 



APPENDIX. 



413 



lt On the 7 th, his cough and other symptoms 
increased in violence ; he got no sleep, and 
speaking became difficult. He received all his 
friends who came to see him with the greatest 
cordiality, but could not speak much. On the 
8th, he was remarkably lively and cheerful, and 
said to his son-in-law, and some other persons 
who were in the room, 4 I cannot express how 
much I love you all. I am now in my proper 
element. We are together like angels, as if we 
were already in heaven. Could you have be- 
lieved it, in the beginning of our work, that 
Christ's prayer, that they all may be one, would 
have been so happily realized among us V In the 
afternoon he finished, with astonishing presence 
of mind, the revision of the collection of texts 
for the next year. This was his last labour. 

" When this was done, he gave vent to the 
grateful feelings of his soul, and, with praises 
and thanksgivings to the Lord, recounted the 
many personal mercies he had received, and the 
many manifestations of Divine grace which had 
accompanied his services in the brethren's church. 
Addressing those who were present, he said, ' Did 
you think, in the beginning, that our Saviour 
would do so much for us, and by us, as you 
now see with your eyes ? What great things 
hath he done in our congregations, among our 
friends in different religious denominations, and 
among the heathen ! With regard to the last, I 
did not extend my hopes beyond two or three 
first-fruits ; and now we may reckon some thou- 
sands of converts/ 

2 n 2 



414 



appendix:. 



"In the same happy state of mind he passed 
the following night. He was still occupied with 
writing, made many inquiries concerning persons 
and things, and spent much of his time in silent 
prayer. He lost his speech for a few minutes, 
but soon recovered it. Early in the morning of 
the 9th, he said to one of his visitors, ' 1 am 
perfectly content with the ways of my Lord. 
He determines with the utmost precision what 
concerns his children ; but, in the present in- 
stance, you do not think so. I believe my work 
among you is done ; and, should I now depart 
this life, you know my mind.' His voice became 
weak, and he could say no more. His son-in- 
law, bishop Watteville, having seated himself 
close by his bed-side, he thus addressed him, 
' My dear Johannes, I am going home to our 
Saviour ; I am ready. I am fully resigned to 
the will of my Lord, and he is satisfied with me, 
for he has pardoned me. If he has no further 
use for me here, I am quite ready to go to him ; 
for there is nothing in my way/ After this he 
gave directions about a few things he wished to 
be done. 

66 Baron Frederick von Watteville, and David 
Nitschmann, now entered his room. He address- 
ed them in a few words, which however were 
scarcely intelligible. Hereupon he sent for his 
children, but was not able to speak. By this time 
nearly a hundred persons had collected in his 
room and the adjoining apartment. He raised 
himself in bed, gazed at them with a look ex- 
pressive of serenity and affection, and then re- 



ATTENDIX. 



415 



clining his head, and closing his eyes, fell gently 
asleep in Jesus, about nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing, having attained the age of sixty years."* 

Count Zinzendorf was unquestionably an ex- 
traordinary man. His rank would have opened 
the way to honourable distinction in this world. 
His wealth furnished the opportunity of obtain- 
ing every indulgence. His literary acquirements 
were highly respectable, such as, in most in- 
stances, would have led to pride of intellect, and 
a love of human praise. But when Zinzendorf 
was called by Divine grace, he consecrated him- 
self and his all, unreservedly, to the service of 
the Saviour. " I have but one passion," he said, 
"it is the love of Him: nothing but Him!" 
His whole life illustrated these expressions, and 
proved his sincerity. We have seen with what 
diligence, what anxiety, what ardour, and at 
what an expenditure of strength, ease, health, 
and property, he laboured to promote the inter- 
ests of the church of Christ among the United 
Brethren, in spite of the calumny and persecu- 
tion which malignant men excited against him. 
He wholly sacrificed himself to the cause. Such 
a man might not always conform to the ordinary 
customs of society. His actions might not some- 
times bear to be measured by the strict rules of 
worldly prudence, or even of truly christian 
policy. He might be deemed eccentric, or ex- 
travagant. He might write too fast, and correct 
his writings too little ; his fervour might seem 
enthusiastic ; but in the general soundness of 

* Holmes, vol. i. pp. 421 — 423. (Quoted from Spangenbeig.) 



416 



APPENDIX. 



his principles, and especially in the excellence 
of his character and the purity of his motives, he 
was truly exemplary. His piety must not be 
submitted to our weights and measures. We 
may be so cool, and so cautious, as to deem that 
to be wildness and incoherency which, on close 
examination, will be found perfectly compatible 
with the " truth and soberness" of Christianity. 
It would be far better to seek a higher elevation of 
aim, and a more pervading spirituality. Our 
religion requires not less mind, but more heart. 
When salvation, and grace, and eternity are the 
theme, we cannot feel too much, nor need we be 
afraid of yielding ourselves to the most powerful 
influences of scriptural truth. Happy are they 
whose sentiments and spirit accord with those of 
the apostle; " Whether we be beside ourselves, 
it is to God ; or whether we be sober, it is for 
your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth 
us ; because we thus judge, that if one died for 
all, then were all dead ; and that he died for 
all, that they which live should not henceforth 
live unto themselves, but unto him which died 
for them, and rose again," 2 Cor. v. 13 — 15., 



As the design of this work, and the limits 
assigned to it, will not allow us to prosecute this 
history any farther, nothing now remains but 
to present a brief view of the present state of the 
Moravian church. 

The doctrines of the church of the United 
Brethren accord generally with those of other 
evangelical churches. They cannot be more 
concisely or better expressed than in the " de- 



APPENDIX. 



417 



claration" issued by a general synod, held at 
Barby, in the year 1775. 

" The chief doctrine to which the church of 
the brethren adheres, and which we must pre- 
serve as an invaluable treasure committed unto 
us, is this : that by the sacrifice for sin made by 
Jesus Christ, and by that alone, grace and de- 
liverance from sin are to be obtained for all 
mankind. 

" We will therefore, without lessening the im- 
portance of any other article of the christian 
faith, stedfastly maintain the following five 
points : — 

" 1 . The doctrine of the universal depravity of 
man : that there is no health in man, and that 
since the fall he has no power whatever left to 
help himself. 

" 2. The doctrine of the divinity of Christ: 
that God, the Creator of all things, was manifest 
in the flesh, and reconciled us to himself; that 
he is before all things, and that by him all things 
consist. 

" 3. The doctrine of the atonement and satis- 
faction made for us by Jesus Christ : that he 
was delivered for our offences, and raised again 
for our justification ; and that, by his merits 
alone, we receive freely the forgiveness of sin, 
and sanctification in soul and body. 

" 4. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and the 
operations of his grace : that it is he who work- 
eth in us conviction of sin, faith in Jesus, and 
pureness in heart. 

"5. The doctrine of the fruits of faith : that 
faith must evidence itself by willing obedience to 



418 



APPEN DiX. 



the commandments of God, from love and gra- 
titude to him. 

44 The more these divine truths are oppugned, 
in our day, the more careful will we be to main- 
tain them, and see to it that they be duly ac- 
knowledged, declared, and believed among us ; 
that we may know the only begotten Son of 
God as our Redeemer, his Father as our Father, 
and the Holy Ghost as our Teacher, Guide, and 
Comforter. Thus we shall secure our own sal- 
vation, and fulfil the calling we have received of 
God."* 

The government and discipline of the church 
of the United Brethren are, in most respects, the 
same as have been already described in this 
work. In the intervals between the general 
synods, the administration of the affairs of the 
body is committed to " the elders' conference of 
the unity," which at present consists of ten per- 
sons, bishops and lay elders. u The official 
duties of this board are — the preservation of 
sound doctrine ; the general oversight of the 
church ; for which purpose its members hold occa- 
sional visitations, and maintain an uninterrupted 
correspondence with all the congregations, so- 
cieties, and missions. It further belongs to them 
to appoint ministers and other labourers, to sup- 
ply vacant offices, and to determine on the for- 
mation of new congregations or missionary settle- 
ments, or the relinquishment of old ones. The 
general inspection of institutions for education, 
and of the finances of the unity, and the direction 

* Holmes, vol. ii. p. 61, 



APPENDIX. 



419 



of whatever involves the interest of the church, 
in spirituals and temporals, are likewise vested 
in this board. There are, also, provincial and 
local conferences, for the necessary despatch 
of business in the several districts and congre- 
gations. "* 

The institutions of the brethren are thus enu- 
merated : — Settlements, societies, town and coun- 
try congregations, missions, and schools. 

I. Settlements. A settlement is a village, 
inhabited solely by members of the brethren's 
church. " Such a settlement consists, besides 
family houses, of the following public buildings : 
a chapel, with adjoining dwellings for the minis- 
ter and elders ; a single brethren's house, and a 
single sisters' house ; frequently, also, a house 
for the widows of ministers and others ; school- 
houses for boys and girls ; and an inn, for the ac- 
commodation of travellers. The inhabitants of 
these settlements, whether married or single, 
men or women, follow their various occupations 
on their own account." The single brethren 
and sisters' houses are called u choir-houses." 
" Every such house is furnished with dwelling- 
rooms, with a hall for social worship, a public 
refectory and dormitory, and with separate ac- 
commodations for the infirm and sick. To the 
brethren's houses, workshops are attached, in 
which the inmates carry on their businesses. 
The same is the case in some of the sisters' houses, 
in which manufactories for weaving are establish- 
ed. The inhabitants receive the whole of their 



* Holmes, vol. ii. p. 333. 



420 



APPENDIX. 



earnings, and a moderate charge is made on them 
for board and lodging. The superintendence of 
a brethren's house is committed, subject to the 
control of the elders' conference, to two of the 
elders, residing in the house ; one attending to 
the spiritual care of the family, and the other to 
its domestic and external concerns. In the sis- 
ters' house, female elders are appointed to these 
offices."* The inhabitants of the settlements 
are expected to defray the public expenses that 
are incurred, and to submit to all regulations 
established for the preservation of good order ; 
but residence in a settlement is in no case com- 
pulsory, nor are the single brethren and sisters 
obliged to live in the choir-houses. 

The following are the situations and names of 
the settlements, with the dates of their forma- 
tion : — 

In Upper Lusatia. Herrnhut, 1722 ; Niesky, 
1742; Kleinwelke, 1751 ; Gnadau, 1767. 

In Silesia. Gnadenberg, 1743; Gnadenfrey, 
1743; Gnadenfeld, 1780; Neusalz, 1744 ; Neu- 
wied, 1750; Ebersdorf, 1746; Neudietendorf, 
1742 ; Koenigsfeld, 1807 ; Christiansfeld, 1772; 
Zeist, 1748. 

In Eyigland. Fulneck, 1744 ; Ockbrook, 
1750 ; Fairfield, 1784. 

In Ireland. Gracehill, 1765. 

In Russia. Sarepta, 1764. 

In Pennsylvania, United States. Bethlehem, 
1741 ; Nazareth, 1744; Lititz, 1757. 

In North Carolina, United States. Salem, 1766. 



* Holmes, vol. i. p. 253; vol. ii. p. 339. 



APPENDIX. 



421 



These settlements contained, in the year 1822, 
10,00 1 members. 

II. Societies. The name of " Society" is 
exclusively given to those religious associations, 
in connexion with the brethren's church, the 
members of which still attend the public minis- 
try, and the sacraments in the parish churches ; 
but have private meetings for edification among 
themselves, and adopt such parts of the bre- 
thren's constitution as are suited to their circum- 
stances.* 

Of these societies, there are sixteen in Ger- 
many and Prussia, containing, in the year 1824, 
31,916 members; seven in Switzerland and 
France, 2664 members; four in Denmark, 1796 
members; three in Norway, 475 members; two 
in Sweden, 550 members ; thirteen in Russia, 
41,300 members. Total, 78,701 members. 

III. Town and Country Congregations. 
An establishment of the brethren in a town or 
village, where they possess only a chapel, and 
perhaps a school-house, is called a town congre- 
gation ; or a country congregation, where the 
members of the church live among their fellow- 
citizens or villagers, and not together, as in a 
settlement. 

These congregations are thus situated : — 
Berlin, containing, in 1822, 274 members ; Nor- 
den, in Friesland, 29 members ; fifteen in Eng- 
land, namely, London ; Baildon, Gomersal, Mir- 
field, and Wyke, in Yorkshire; Duckenfield, 
in Cheshire; Woodford, in Northamptonshire; 



* Holmes, vol. i. p. 28. 
2 o 



422 



APPENDIX. 



Bedford ; Bristol ; Kingswood ; Bath ; Malms- 
bury ; Tytherton, Wiltshire ; Leominster, and 
Devonport, 2212 members; Haverfordwest, in 
Wales, 68 members ; Ayr, in Scotland, 94 mem- 
bers ; five in Ireland, 605 members ; nineteen 
in the United States of North America, 4301 
members. Total, 7583 members. 

IV. Missions. The brethren have continued 
their missionary labours in the same unosten- 
tatious and self-denying spirit with which they 
were begun, and have been very extensively 
useful. The history of their operations is very 
interesting, and presents some of the noblest 
specimens of christian heroism, both in action 
and suffering, ever recorded. The brethren have 
seemed to delight in attempting what most men 
would have regarded as impracticable ; and their 
perseverance has equalled their courage. More 
than a century has elapsed since the first mis- 
sionaries landed in the West Indies and in Green- 
land. Their great object has been steadily pur- 
sued ever since, and with unabated ardour. God 
has raised up labourers, as opportunities for 
employing them have been presented, and those 
opportunities have been embraced with thank- 
fulness and joy. The church of the United 
Brethren may indeed be called a " Missionary 
Church. " No other body of professing chris- 
tians can lay an equal claim to that appellation ; 
for the establishment of missions to the heathen 
is considered by them as part of the business of 
the church, as such, and one of the main designs 
of its existence, while every brother and sister 
stands prepared to go wherever the general voice 



APPENDIX. 



423 



shall determine, according to the opinion enter- 
tained of their qualifications and gifts. It cannot 
be matter of surprise that such a society should 
be favoured with peculiar tokens of the Divine 
approbation. God has wonderfully blessed the 
efforts of his servants. The flowers of piety have 
blossomed on the bleak and barren shores of 
Labrador and Greenland ; the slave-islands of 
the West have received " the liberty where- 
with Christ has made us free;" and the re- 
freshing waters of life have cheered the sultry 
plains of Southern Africa, producing verdure 
and fruitfulness, and causing the wilderness to 
sing for joy. 

The means employed by the brethren, in their 
foreign operations, are generally the same as 
those adopted by other missionary institutions, 
with such modifications as their peculiar disci- 
pline renders necessary. Wherever it has been 
practicable, regular settlements have been formed, 
as in Europe, in which the usual regulations, 
services, divisions into classes, &c. are punctu- 
ally observed; thus bringing considerable bodies 
of the natives under the constant influence of re- 
ligious truths and exercises, and subjecting them 
to a salutary inspection. Schools are founded 
in these settlements, both for children and adults ; 
and, in Africa, infant schools have been recently 
introduced, with much good effect. The mis- 
sionaries have also translated the New Testament 
and Psalms into the Esquimaux language, the 
New Testament into the Greenlandish and Ne- 
gro-English, which have been printed by the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, and most 
gratefully received by the native converts, 



424 



APPENDIX. 



At an early period in the history of their mis- 
sions, the brethren determined to avail themselves 
of the assistance of such of the natives as should 
appear to be qualified to instruct their country- 
men, and were disposed to engage themselves in 
the work. The desirableness and necessity of 
such a measure must be obvious to every re- 
flecting mind ; for, however well acquainted a 
foreigner may be with the language and general 
customs of those among whom he is called to 
labour, he cannot possibly sympathize with them 
in those feelings, habits, and modes of thinking, 
which are peculiar to themselves, and may be 
properly called national. " I have been a hea- 
then," said Tschoop, one of the indian converts, 
" and therefore I know how heathens think. " 
Without the agency of such men, (always, how- 
ever, under the judicious superintendence of 
European missionaries,) the gospel is not likely to 
be extensively spread in a pagan country. All 
missionary societies act upon this principle as 
far as they are able ; but it is due to the brethren 
to state, that they were the first to adopt the 
plan, and that they have carried it into operation 
on a large scale. The native converts employed 
by them are called < 6 helpers," and their duties 
are thus described : — " To maintain a prudent 
and watchful oversight over those members of 
the congregation who are specially intrusted to 
their guidance ; to guard against any disorders 
that might find entrance among them ; to assist 
them with their spiritual advice and experience ; 
to visit the sick, and ascertain the wants of the 
poor ; to endeavour to preserve peace, and re- 
concile differences. They are also employed to 



APPENDIX. 



425 



visit the different classes of the congregation, 
under the immediate superintendence of the mis- 
sionaries ; and to converse freely and confiden- 
tially with the small companies of communicants, 
baptized adults, or catechumens, of which these 
classes consist, on subjects connected both with 
their spiritual and temporal state, seeking to 
lead them onward in the way of faith and holi- 
ness. The result of their labours is communi- 
cated, from time to time, to the missionaries, 
who seldom, especially in very extensive missions, 
take any step affecting the advancement of in- 
dividuals in the privileges of the church, or their 
suspension or exclusion from its ordinances, 
without previous consultation with the helpers. 
For this, a private opportunity is generally af- 
forded, previous to the communion and prayer- 
days, and likewise at a solemn conference, which 
the missionaries occasionally hold with them, 
and at which a variety of topics connected with 
their office are discussed, and the needful counsel 
and encouragements administered. The female 
helpers have similar duties to perform in refer- 
ence to their own sex, and maintain a like in- 
tercourse with the wives of the missionaries, to 
whose guidance they are specially committed. "* 
The missions of the brethren are thus distri- 
buted, according to the returns up to the end 
of 1833. The names of the settlements are 
printed in Italics. 

* See the " Periodical Accounts" of the United Brethren, 
No. 142, pp. 1—5. 



426 



APPENDIX. 



Stations. 



When 
form- 
ed. 



New Herrnhut , 



GREENLAND 



LABRADOR 



NORTH AMERICA 
WEST INDIES 

DANISH ISLANDS 
St. Thomas 

St. Croix 

St. Jan 
BRITISH ISLANDS 



Lichtenau 
FrederickstJial . . 
Nain 

Okkak 

Hqpedale ...... 

Hebron 

New Fairfield . . 
Spring Place, a 

mong the Che- 

rokees, 



Jamaica 



Antigua 



St. Kitts 



Barbadoes 

Tobago 
SURINAM 



SOUTH AFRICA. 



f 



New Herrnhut . 

Niesky 

Friedensthal . . . 
Friedensberg . 
Friedensfeld ... 

Bethany 

Emmaus ..... 



New Eden 

Irwin Hill 

Fairfield 

New Carmel... 
Mesopotamia • 
New Bethlehem 
New Fulnee . • . 

St. John's 

Gracehill 

Gracebay 

Newtield ..... 
Cedar Hall ... 
Basseterre 
Bethesda ..... 

Bethel 

Sharon 

Mount Tabor . 
Montgomery . . . 
Parmaribo . . . 
Gnadenthal . . , 
Groenekloqf . . . 
Hemel-en-Aarde 

Elim , 

Enon • 

Shiloh 



1733 
1758 
1774 
1824 
1770 
1776 
1782 
1830 
1792 



1801 



1732 
1753 
1751 
1771 
1805 
1754 
1782 

1816 
1815 
1823 
1827 
1831 
1833 
1830 
1761 
1773 
1797 
1817 
1822 
1777 
1819 
1832 
1767 
1825 
1827 
1767 
1792 
1808 
1823 
1824 
1818 
1828 



2.2 c 
CD sr. -J 

X y. Z 
' 2. O" 
C 8 



36 



23 



38 



211 



1 s?* 
ill 

B.o 



1820 



895 



349 



9435 



4996 



13836 



4840 



1603 

253 
3353 



3099 



320 



70 



4000 



1450 



5113 



1150 



305 

18 
1200 



1060 



14479 1552 



APPENDIX. 



427 



There are 42 stations, 16 of which are regular 
settlements, constituted as in Europe. 

It should be observed, that both male and 
female missionaries are included in the list, and 
that the u congregations" comprise children as 
well as adults. 

The expenses of the missions amount annually 
to upwards of £12,000. As this is a much 
larger sum than could be raised by the Brethren 
among themselves, they are assisted by the con- 
tributions of other christian denominations, both 
in Europe and America. In the year 1817 was 
formed the " London Association in aid of the 
Missions of the United Brethren. " By the zea- 
lous efforts of those who have managed that in- 
stitution, large sums have been collected in this 
country. The receipts for the year 1833 ex- 
ceeded £5000. A similar association exists in 
Scotland ; and considerable sums are also obtain- 
ed on the continent of Europe, and in the Unit- 
ed States of North America. Nevertheless, the 
missionary fund is frequently inadequate to the 
expenditure, and heavy debts are consequently 
incurred, which are not discharged without great 
difficulty and extraordinary efforts. 

In addition to their foreign operations, the 
brethren have established a mission in Ireland, 
among the Roman catholics. Five scripture 
readers are employed, who are stationed in the 
counties of Antrim, Cavan, Londonderry, and 
Down, and have met with encouraging success. 

V. Schools. The brethren have established 
schools at the principal settlements, and other 
places, for the general education of their chil- 
dren. Their plans have been so much approved, 



428 



APPENDIX. 



particularly on account of their excellent methods 
of communicating religious instruction, that they 
have been solicited to admit the children of other 
persons. Their schools have, in consequence, 
become boarding schools on a large scale. There 
are nine of these in England, situate in the fol- 
lowing places : — Fulneck, Gomersal, Mirfleld, 
Wyke, Fairfield, Duckenfield, Ockbrook, Bed- 
ford, and Tytherton. In Germany and Prussia 
there are ten schools ; in Switzerland, one ; in 
Holland, one ; in Denmark, one ; in Livonia, 
one ; in Ireland, one ; in North America, four. 
The total number of pupils, whose parents are 
not in connexion with the brethren's church, 
is upwards of 1400.* 

Here we must close. On the ecclesiastical 
government, and discipline established by the 
brethren, various opinions will be entertained ; 
but the purity of their intentions, and the fervour 
of their piety, are generally acknowledged ; and 
true christians, of all denominations, unite to 
admire the disinterestedness, the unwearied assi- 
duity, the " humbleness of mind/' the spirit of 
love and union, and the patience in suffering, 
by which they have been, and are still eminently 
distinguished. Their labours and success are a 
cheering and humbling comment on the word of 
the Lord; " not by might, nor by power, but 
by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts," 
Zech. iv. 6. 

* For an account of the brethren's method of education, 
see Holmes, vol. ii. pp. 74 — 76. 



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